ten fatalities
Published July 4, 2008 | 
“To date, there have already been ten fatalities on Colorado rivers this season.“ Is it just me or is there a real issue this year with on water safety?
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2 Responses to ten fatalities
Hi Derrick!
It’s sad, but it’s really an issue. Worldwide. Only yesterday 10 people died in a dramatic canoe incident on the river Sava in Slovenië. This spring we mourned over several ww-kayakers that lost live in France and Belgium. Local authorities prohibited access to rivers because there were to many incidents. Every accident has it’s own story. I can’t tell there is a trend, nor can I make it hard with figures. But in all the years I am involved in kayaking I never have never known so many accidents happening in such a short time as this year.
Warranting, improving kayak-safety is the first goal of the Dutch sea kayaking (NKB) committee. Actually this issue is even higher on our priority list than promoting our fantastic sport. In over-regulized Europe it’s a matter of surviving – not only literally for the individual kayaker, but also for the continuance in existence of kayaksport in general.
Greetings,
Hans
I share Hans’ concerns about regulation. After a paddler miffed someone backing their yacht out of a slip here in Milwaukee, there was talk about forcing kayaks to have a stick with a red flag tied to their boats (like the bicyclers do). I went to the Harbor Safety Committee and explained what we are about, and they agreed that the flags would, if anything, endanger us and not really make us more visible. I would like to see more proactive paddlers get the word out to other paddlers and those in a position to make life miserable for us.