Dan wrote; (SNIP) > > Back to motorcycles. I don't ride. Scared to death of the being hit by > the four wheeled machines. But I don't think there should be helmet laws. > If you want to ride without a helmet you have to justify this to yourself > and family. Not me. Not my business. Car & Driver had an editorial piece > a couple of issues back on helmet laws. It seems that the death/serious > injury rates are LOWER in states that DO NOT have helmet laws. The > comparisons where both by number of riders as well as the rate of riders > per miles driven. Go figure. > This has to do with something called risk homeostasis. Basically the theory says that each person has a comfortable level of risk. If they perceive they have greater safety they increase their level of risk until they reach their comfort level (and vice versa). Thus, if paddlers (or motorcycle drivers) perceive that a device or skill makes them safer they will increase their levels of risk thus increasing their chance of an accident and, more often than not, will increase the probable severity of an accident.. Despite all the modern safety devices on automobiles our level of safety hasn't really changed. We drive faster and more aggressively and get into more and more serious accidents. This does not mean that safety devices etc. do not save lives. they do - if you have an accident. Unfortunately they often also increase your chances of having an accident as one adjusts the comfort level to suit the increased perception of safety. One has to differentiate between reactive safety and active safety. Decorating yourself and boat with safety equipment and rescue skills and going out in scary conditions with a high risk of capsize or danger is reactive safety as it kicks in only after things go wrong. Looking at conditions and staying ashore to read a book is active safety because you have reduced the possibility of an accident. Does this mean you should not use safety devices? No. It means that the device may offer no net increase in safety unless your level of risk remains constant. In short, to increase real safety you want to increase your level of safety but decrease your perception of safety. By all means, wear your wet suit (life jacket, etc.) but stay ashore if you think you might need to use it. >From this one can see a hint at the problem with giving people "good advice". If they do not perceive an appropriate level of danger your advice falls on deaf ears. Often the perception of safety far exceeds real safety. Dr. Gerald Wilde, one of the leading researchers in this field has written a condensed version of the theory as it applies to outdoor activities that you can read at http://home.ican.net/~735769/wilde.htm . If you find it interesting you can follow the link to his web site where you will find the full text of his book "Target Risk" (I think. I have not visited it lately). Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Web site address, http://home.ican.net/~735769 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Nov 04 1999 - 05:26:15 PST
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