[Paddlewise] Who's to Blame?

>> John Kirk-Anderson <jka_at_netaccess.co.nz> wrote:
>> 
>>> Last week a Coroner's Inquest into the death of a skier from
>> California
>> heard calls ...

on 12/7/05 06:39, John Fereira at jaf30_at_cornell.edu wrote:

> Blame Cana^H^Hlifornia!  As a fifth generation native Californian I wish
> people would stop assuming that all of California and the people that live
> there are the same.  ...

Hi John,

This was in no way an inditement of California, Californian's, or indeed any
group of people. Meeting any individuals of any "group" shows the stupidity
of stereotyping. During one three-month tour of the US, the only person I
met who I classified as an A--hole was an expat Kiwi!

Also, the idea that:

 "Shawn Baker" <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com> wrote:

...It is sad that Americans as a whole do not accept personal responsibility
as a lifestyle.  "It's someone else's fault"....and it's a sad plague
spreading to other countries...

is not exclusive to Americans, my industry (the media) lives for that
response, and perpetuates it. We are always amazed when someone basically
says, "S--t happens".

The threat of litigation can have benefits, as explained to me by one man
(OK, he WAS from the US) whose partner, a Kiwi, was injured in a
para-gliding accident here. The operator involved had a very bad reputation
for accidents, but got away with it for far too long, as the para-gliding
industry was self regulated, and he was too close to the organisation.

The (former US policeman) started an investigation of his own, and with
media coverage (we do some things right) the operator was closed down. That
was little comfort for those who had life-long injuries from his actions. As
the former-cop said to me, this situation would not have gone on for so long
in the States, as after he was sued for the first spinal injury his
insurance would have gone up, and after the second he would have no
insurance, and hence would have gone out of business.

This was another case of where the typical Kiwi response, "She'll be right,
Mate", was dangerous.

There can, arguably, be other benefits from the spot-light of investigation.

A cyclist competing in a road-race (Le Race) was killed when she hit an
oncoming car while overtaking a bunch on a road she (presumably) believed
was closed. In the following criminal investigation, it became apparent that
there was confusion among competitors over which parts of the course were
closed, and which were open to traffic. The event organiser (Astrid
Anderson) was charged with Criminal Nuisance (if I recall correctly) and was
convicted.

The conviction was eventually overturned on appeal, but not before every
sporting event in NZ looked very closely at how it operated.

A new industry in traffic management sprang up, and the sale of road-cones
and reflective jackets boomed. Events which typically relied on volunteers
started to consider how skilled, equipped, and qualified they were. Many
smaller events have stopped, due to increased costs.

Despite this, potentially dangerous things slip through.

I was in one multisport event recently when I saw a marshal, sitting alone
on a very exposed ridge, shivering with cold. Later I found out she had no
shelter or communications, her first-aid kit was next to useless, and she
had little first aid skills. We competitors were far better equipped.

Rather than worry too much about litigation-avoidance (or responsibility
avoidance), we should instead use this energy to ensure we practise, not
just preach, best practice.

Still, in this forum I guess we are preaching to the choir!

Cheers

JKA
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