Page 5
Sample book
More than any other nation, our love of water has become
part of our culture. As part of that culture, we must also
learn water safety.
Some causes of drowning
The table in Figure 5.1 breaks down into percentages
where drownings occurred in recent years. The following
sections look more closely at the actual causes of these
tragic accidents.
Poor supervision
Inadequate supervision of young children around water
is the cause of most child drownings. Figure 5.1 shows
that falls into swimming pools are the greatest cause of
drownings and the lack of barriers around water sources
must contribute to these figures. This table also shows
that people can even drown in baths which underlines the
importance of water safety at home.
Surrounding environmental conditions
A lack of understanding of the dangers associated with
water and its environment often leads to accidents. For
example, the best of swimmers can fall off a rocky headland,
be knocked unconscious and drown. People who can swim
quite well in the backyard pool often panic when caught in
a
surf rip
, become exhausted, black out and drown.
Chapter 18 describes how weather can contribute to
dangerous water situations, for example, sailors can drown
at sea when strong gusts of wind overturn their dinghies.
Surfing or swimming in rough wave conditions like those
in Figure 5.3 often leads to the swimmer exceeding the
level of their abilities, becoming exhausted, and drowning
after being battered on the rocks. Environmental factors
such as tides, currents, waves and coastlines are discussed
in Chapters 23 and 24.
Failure to observe signs
Ignoring warning signs, such as those shown in Figure
5.2, can lead to people being stung by dangerous marine
creatures, suffering a heart attack or shock and drowning. In
many swimming places, signs warn people about swimming
dangers, the most obvious of these are flags put up on
surf beaches to indicate safe swimming areas. Yet, to the
amazement of the lifeguards, people still swim outside these
managed situations.
Figure 5.1 Deaths due to drowning in 2014
Drowning statistics
Percentage
Swimming, paddling or
22.0
wading
Surfing, surfboard riding
4.0
Swimming in ocean, river, estuary,
bay, lake, lagoon, dam, water
hole, irrigation canal, drain or
trench
3.0
Water-skiing, surfboard riding
2.5
Swept off rocks, breakwater
while fishing
5.0
Skindiving, spear fishing
2.0
Attempting a rescue
1.3
Fall into swimming pool
28.0
Fall into ocean, harbour, estuary
bay, lake, lagoon, dam, water
hole, irrigation canal, drain or
trench
16.0
Drowned in bathtub
2.0
Accident to watercraft causing
submersion of motorised craft
9.0
Accident to watercraft causing
submersion of non-motorised craft
3.0
Drowning caused by cataclysm
or other environmental factors
2.0
Other
0.2
Total
100.0
Wet Paper
Figure 5.2 Warning sign - Dangerous sea
creatures
Figure 5.3 Beach rip
Wet Paper
Don't swim in unpatrolled
areas
