40 years of Accident Databass Statistics

Posted: 04/03/2017
By: Charlie Walbridge

 

American Whitewater

 Accident Database Statistics: 1975 - 2016

 

Total Records

1588

Fatalities

1262

Near Misses

  268

Injuries

    58

 

 

Fatalities by Country

United States

1192

Canada

    30

All Other

    40

 

 

Fatalities by Boat Type

Kayak

  446

Canoe

  183

Raft and IK

  486

Other

  146

Commercial

  231

Private

1030

 

 

Fatalities by Cause

Cold Water

  326

Flush Drowning

  310

High Water

  290

No PFD

  201

Strainer  

  196

Entrapment 

  175

One Boat Trip

  166

Undercuts/ Sieves

  159

Near Drown (Nonfatal)

  147

Dam Hydraulic

  116

Failed Rescue

    88

Caught in Nat. Hydraulic

    70

Equipment Trap

    63

Solo Paddler

    55

Head Injury

    52

Heart Attack

    48

Foot Entrapment

    45

Impact/ Trauma

    42

Health Problem

    53

Spinal Injury (nonfatal)

    26

Vertical Pin

    13

 

 

Fatalities by River Difficulty

Class I-II

128

Class III

280

Class IV

200

Class V

173

 

 

Fatalities by Decade

1977-1986

   48

1987-1996

 219

1997-2008

 453

2007-2016

       530

 

 

Fatalities By Water Level

Low

94

Medium

370

High

420

Flood

33

 

 

Ages

Under 18

300

18-34

413

35-65

485

over 65

69

 

 

Fatalities by State

Alabama

  16

Alaska

  26

Arizona

  21

Arkansas

  13

California

109

Colorado

155

Connecticut

    9

Georgia

    7

Hawaii

    1

Idaho

  74

Illinois

  10

Indiana

  11

Iowa

    3

Kansas

    7

Kentucky

  11

Maine

  14

Maryland

  14

Massachusetts

    7

Michigan

  14

Minnesota

    6

Missouri

    7

Montana

  50

Nevada

    2

New Hampshire

  14

New Jersey

  16

New Mexico

  10

New York

  52

North Carolina

  33

North Dakota

    2

Ohio

  16

Oklahoma

    3

Oregon

  60

Pennsylvania

  66

Rhode Island

    2

South Carolina

  29

Tennessee

  36

Texas

  22

Utah

  29

Vermont

    6

Virginia

  30

Washington

  69

West Virginia

  78

Wisconsin

  12

Wyoming

  20

 

 

 

 

No Whitewater Fatalities were reported in Delaware, DC, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, & South Dakota

 

Top 10

1.Colorado

155

2. California

109

3. West Virginia

  78

4. Idaho

  74

5. Washington

  69

6. Pennsylvania

  66

7. Oregon

  60

8. Montana

  50

9. Tennessee

  36

10. North Carolina

  33

 

 

 

Charles Walbridge

Bruceton Mills, WV

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