Safety Links

A CNN story on whitewater rafting deaths published in September 2006, which can still be found on the Web, omits the fact that most of the fatalities cited by the article did not occur on commercial raft trips, said to David Brown, Executive Director of America Outdoors (AO).  America Outdoors is a national association of outfitters, which includes many whitewater rafting companies.  The story cites 50 whitewater deaths and infers that they were on commercial rafting trips due to lax state regulation.  Brown says his data shows 10 fatalities on guided, commercial raft trips in 2006.  None of the deaths on commercial trips were the result of a customer not wearing a life jacket.  Of the eight rafting deaths cited in Oregon by CNN, none were on a commercially guided trip.

Over the next decade, AW hopes to serve as the collecting point for GPS data on whitewater rivers for the purpose of aiding rescue professionals. We hope to create a set of GPS data for river runs listed on AW’s website, starting with the coordinates of the put-in, continuing with info on the major rapids and landmarks, and finishing with the numbers for the take-out.

Jennifer Plyler's National Accident Study was an effort to take a close look at fatal accidents in the paddlesport community using both U.S. Coast Guard and American Whitewater data. It is the most detailed look at accidents involving canoes, kayaks, and inflatables throughout the country.

Laura Whitman's article compares the accident rate among kayakers with other common sports and activities.

This has tables showing the number of fatal accidents by year and by state over the past 30 years.

Well-intentioned, albeit misplaced, management decisions to restrict access are often made in order to protect you. These decisions affect the FERC relicensing process, recreational whitewater releases from dams, result in a proliferation of permits, and have led to a loss of access on many rivers. This article relates examples through which access has been limited by river managers' fears for your safety.

Strainers, filters, sweepers, log sieves, log jams, do you have a chill running down your spine yet? Logs are generally disliked by boaters; their importance to the ecosystem is completely misunderstood; they are removed whenever possible; and if one is ever implicated in the injury or death of a human it is ceremoniously destroyed. Here are some considerations to think about before removing a log for safety, or prior to placing one in the stream for fish habitat.

CHAPEL HILL - Recreational boat passengers are just as likely as operators to die as a result of drinking alcohol, according to a new study of boating deaths in North Carolina and Maryland. One reason the study revealed was that passengers who have been drinking often topple overboard and drown.

The success of any risk management plan results from the understanding, simplification, and implementation of a program that actually gets used by everyone in the organization. The essential basics are fairly simple. Here is what American Whitewater has found based on examination of dozens of lawsuits against outfitters and the results of conducting hundreds of risk management consultations.

American Whitewater has consolidated the recreational use statutes from all 50 states. Now, for the first time, you can find out what your rights as a landower or recreationist are - no matter where you live in the United States. This page has links that describe how to protect access, and yourself as a landowner or recreationist. It even includes links to the actual laws!