Noah - I'll let ya in on a secret: they've actually got ski bindings that release now - you're actually not bolted down to the ski anymore!!!
Actually, the risk of injury is greater in snowboarding than skiing, although both are relatively low. Most snowboard injuries occur to the upper extremeties, the head and the ankle. Frank? Do you have experience skiing? That is a big help. I was a ski instructor for 10+ years and pretty much ski everything on the mountain at age 46. I was considering snowboarding this year and a good friend who is a certified board instructor talked me out of it, for some good reasons - some involving injury, some more practical. Plus, with the new short shaped skis, skiing has been absolutely revolutionized and I have more fun now than ever.
My motto has always been:
"God gave ya 2 legs for a reason. So ya can balance by operating them independantly. If he wanted ya to lock them together on a snowboard, he would have given ya just one leg ...... "