FKA Kiteboarding Forums - kite-surfing accident off of the Dunedin Causeway

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- - kite-surfing accident off of the Dunedin Causeway (http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4739)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigairal (Post 24067)

I am sorry, Tom I forgot Scott was miked at the time. Honestly, i burst out laughing too. I was just being funny.

I know Al, I laughed... no big deal. I can learn from my mistakes :)

hopefully i can learn from my mistakes too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyway Scott (Post 24064)

I just found the article by back tracking the reporters name on google.
The article had several misquotes from me, and imo, distorts statistics to make kiting look dangerous.
I wouldn't care so much if I didn't think it could sway public perception, but obviously it can.

He also got all of the statistics wrong.

The statistics were obtained (and then twisted) from
http://kitesurfingschool.org/safety....t%20Statistics

If you look at the stats, accidents were DOWN FROM 2002.

2000 - 9 accidents - 1 fatal
2001 - 16 accidents - 3 fatal
2002 - 59 accidents - 9 fatal
2003 - 21 accidents - 1 fatal

14, he claims is the number of fatalities for 2003 is actually the TOTAL from 2000-2003.

So as popularity increased, equipment became better and riders became better trained and accidents went down by more than 50%. Fatal accidents went down by more than 90%!

This is also where he obtained the misspelling of Rick's name... so we know this is where these statistics came from.

It's interesting that the author would completely ignore the facts from the very source they were obtained unless of course he wanted kiteboarding to seem more dangerous than it actually is.

The facts suggest that kiteboarding is safer now than it has ever been.

2007 equipment is significantly better than 2003 equipment in regards to safety. 2003 equipment was so poor that none of us would even consider using it today.

1 fatality per year? I bet the easy bake oven has killed more people.

From what I read in one of Rick's posts those are the Stats for world wide not just in the US! I think more people are seriously injured chewing gum in this state.

Bob

any updates on how Chris is doing?

shattered pelvis.
he landed on a guard rail.
i talked2 one of the guys he rides with and apparently they are NOT spooked out and dude(not christopher) sounds like he wants2 keep riding there.
not good.
not gonna name drop here but...
i feel4 the riders in N pine county on these easterlies.
driving over an hour both wayz must be a bitch.
move2 the burg yawl.
its werth it.
peace

I know of a few instructors who ride there too believe it or not...

i dont think its as bad as you guys are making it out to be, i ridden there... and if you take the proper precautions its perfectly fine.... when you launch your kite, keep it low, on windy days you should never stand on shore with your kite at 12... your just asking for it........
thats probably the best spot (without a boat) to ride on a N wind, its about 2-3 miles wide and all 3-7ft deep....

any spot can be dangerous if you are not careful....

I think for some people alot of places to ride, even with hazzards might be fine, but the name of the game is to limit your risk exposure. Riding near powerlines doesn't do that, I don't care who you are, you never know when a line can snap looping you all the way to shore!

Louie says:

Play it safe around electricity!