Postby RickI » Mon Jul 08, 2002 10:44 pm
It is sad to have three fatalities in about one month. Unfortunately, it appears likely that there will be more given that the kiteboarding season is starting to take off in the northern hemisphere. Kiteboarding is a dangerous sport but many of the accidents that have and will occur in this sport in the future, are avoidable. As our numbers are increasing so will the quantity of accidents, incidents and as a consequence, fatalities.
There is a great deal to know and practice to manage the great forces that are possible in this sport. The level of care shown by many riders in pursuing this sport is not sufficient to avoid, some of these avoidable accidents. Only a small minority of riders use of safety gear including helmets, functioning depowering leashes, impact pfds, gloves, whistles.
I am receiving reports from around the world indicating that the majority of experienced riders don't use leashes. This practice is irresponsible, very short sighted and ignores predicatable, inevidable consequences both to ourselves and others.
We need to start to take this sport more seriously. It is far more involved than it looks to perform it safely. The goal of this is not to assign fault but to promote more responsible and safe riding practices. Society will not ignore these incidents, accidents and fatalities indefinitely as has largely happened in many areas to date. It will move to restrict our activities, for "our own good", if we don't react effectively first.
This sport demands a certain level of care, awareness, training and safety gear in the long term to assure safety. To do otherwise is to set ourselves up for avoidable losses.
Rick Iossi