WHY SHOULD I WEAR A LIFEJACKET OR BUOYANCY AID WHEN I'M CANOEING OR KAYAKING?
Wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid might have saved the lives of at least four canoeists and two kayak-anglers in 2012. And in the last six years, at least 18 might have been saved if they had worn one.
Last year, a father lost his 5 year old daughter, his best friend and his 2 children in a canoeing incident on a Scottish loch. The craft overturned and one of the men and an eight year old girl managed to swim to shore to alert the Coastguard. The children were wearing buoyancy aids, the fathers were not.
Would you wear a buoyancy aid if you were going canoeing on a day out with the children? With summer quickly approaching, the sharp rise in the popularity of this sport and the cheapness and availability of getting hold of equipment, an incident like this could easily happen again.
Make sure you have all the right equipment and are properly trained for the activity you are undertaking, particularly if this is the first time you are trying the sport.
To find out how you should prepare for a day out take a look at the British Canoe Union website: http://www.bcu.org.uk/ and consider a 'Go canoeing tour'.
Who has compiled these statistics?
*These figures have been compiled by an expert panel review comprising: Angling Trust, RNLI, Royal Yachting Association, Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, National Water Safety Forum, British Canoe Union, the lifejacket industry, Scottish Fishermen's Federation and University of Portsmouth.
The panel uses data supplied from Coastguard and MAIB databases and therefore only covers coastal incidents. Other inland canoeing and kayaking incidents where a lifejacket might have saved a life may have occurred during 2012, but these are not included for this exercise.
In March 2013 the panel reviewed the Coastguard/MAIB data and assessed whether a lifejacket or buoyancy aid would have made a difference in saving a person's life. A decision was made about whether it was probable, possible or unlikely that the person would have been saved by wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid. The panel also took into consideration factors such as whether the lifejacket or buoyancy aid was suitably maintained, correctly worn and fit for purpose. In some cases it was not appropriate for the person to be wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid, for example swimmers.
Figures for all activities
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) recorded 132 maritime fatalities in 2012. The expert panel reviewed 45 of these where the casualty might have worn a lifejacket or buoyancy aid (so cliff fallers, suicides and so on were not included).
Of the 45 fatalities, the panel judged that it would have been appropriate for 27 people to have been wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid. Of these 27, the panel agreed that 20 would probably or could possibly have been saved had they been wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid.
Figures have been compiled by the panel for the last six years and during that period the panel judged that 136 people's lives might have been saved had they been wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid.
Last year, a father lost his 5 year old daughter, his best friend and his 2 children in a canoeing incident on a Scottish loch. The craft overturned and one of the men and an eight year old girl managed to swim to shore to alert the Coastguard. The children were wearing buoyancy aids, the fathers were not.
Would you wear a buoyancy aid if you were going canoeing on a day out with the children? With summer quickly approaching, the sharp rise in the popularity of this sport and the cheapness and availability of getting hold of equipment, an incident like this could easily happen again.
Make sure you have all the right equipment and are properly trained for the activity you are undertaking, particularly if this is the first time you are trying the sport.
To find out how you should prepare for a day out take a look at the British Canoe Union website: http://www.bcu.org.uk/ and consider a 'Go canoeing tour'.
Who has compiled these statistics?
*These figures have been compiled by an expert panel review comprising: Angling Trust, RNLI, Royal Yachting Association, Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, National Water Safety Forum, British Canoe Union, the lifejacket industry, Scottish Fishermen's Federation and University of Portsmouth.
The panel uses data supplied from Coastguard and MAIB databases and therefore only covers coastal incidents. Other inland canoeing and kayaking incidents where a lifejacket might have saved a life may have occurred during 2012, but these are not included for this exercise.
In March 2013 the panel reviewed the Coastguard/MAIB data and assessed whether a lifejacket or buoyancy aid would have made a difference in saving a person's life. A decision was made about whether it was probable, possible or unlikely that the person would have been saved by wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid. The panel also took into consideration factors such as whether the lifejacket or buoyancy aid was suitably maintained, correctly worn and fit for purpose. In some cases it was not appropriate for the person to be wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid, for example swimmers.
Figures for all activities
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) recorded 132 maritime fatalities in 2012. The expert panel reviewed 45 of these where the casualty might have worn a lifejacket or buoyancy aid (so cliff fallers, suicides and so on were not included).
Of the 45 fatalities, the panel judged that it would have been appropriate for 27 people to have been wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid. Of these 27, the panel agreed that 20 would probably or could possibly have been saved had they been wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid.
Figures have been compiled by the panel for the last six years and during that period the panel judged that 136 people's lives might have been saved had they been wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid.
