Re: [Paddlewise] accident report

Yeah, I agree. The word "accident" makes it sound totally random. Maybe one
could say in a typical scenario here that the manatee surfacing under the
kayak was an accident. The fact that the paddler drowned afterward could
have been prevented and was the result of bad judgement, skills or gear.
Having the right gear is judgement and knowing how to use it is a skill, so
it's all balled up together.

Anyway, I think of what is often called an "accident" as failing to beat the
odds that particular time. Every time you go out there's a chance - maybe a
small one, but something greater than zero - that things will not go as you
expect/wish. What is your recourse? Do you have what you need in the
skills/gear continuum to come back and rack your boat that night? How much
are you willing to bet? That's what it is after all.

You know how a lot of people like to read fortune cookies and then add "in
bed" after it? When I challenge someone for not wearing the pfd that's on
their deck or whatever I add "yet!" to the typical response. "I've been out
a lot and never fallen in." "I'm a good swimmer, I won't have a problem." "I
don't need a roll. I don't fall over."

Safety is no accident.


On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 12:12 PM, Bradford R. Crain <crainb_at_pdx.edu> wrote:

>    Do people still believe in accidents? Here in Oregon, every time someone
> drowns, or is shot, or dies, or gets lost, the press labels it an accident.
> Every traffic
> collision is an accident according to the news. Every time a trucker wrecks
> his rig,
> it's because his load shifted. I think true accidents are as rare as
> sightings of the tooth
> fairy. I don't believe in boating accidents or car accidents. Everything
> has a cause
> and an effect. Dozens of cyclists in Oregon have been killed "by accident".
> Boy, were they "unlucky". An accident is when an asteroid falls from the
> sky
> and punches a hole in your kayak.
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