American Whitewater

Safety has been a core issue for AW since 1954, and today we are leaders in accident analysis and safety education. Formal risk management is part of all our programs. We work hard to publicize safe practices that help every American enjoy our rivers safely, and we advise legislative bodies and river managers on the best ways to educate whitewater paddlers. If you look back through the pages of the August 1955 and Winter 1957 American Whitewater Journal, you’ll see the International Scale of River Difficulty, the codification of a class I-IV whitewater classification system, was developed internationally and adopted and promoted by American Whitewater. Outdoor recreation and whitewater paddling specifically have inherent risks, however many whitewater accidents, especially for less experienced boaters, are preventable with some very basic whitewater safety knowledge.

Always Wear Your PFD (personal flotation device, commonly known as a life jacket)
Research the River You Plan to Paddle: Whitewater Difficulty, Optimal Flow Levels, Current Hazards, Predicted Weather, Remoteness
Avoid Extreme Weather and High Flows
Avoid Dams
Avoid Drugs and Alcohol

1 x Application (99.48%)	5.45s
1 x Booting (0.52%)	28.68ms

Params
0	`safetyWiki`
1	`safetyNewsVC`
2	`formRenderService`

Params
0	`obLevel`
1	`__env`
2	`app`
3	`hasCGLogo`
4	`errors`
5	`safetyWiki`
6	`safetyNewsVC`
7	`formRenderService`

Params
0	`news`
1	`title`
2	`view_component`
3	`formRenderService`

Params
0	`article`
1	`view_component`
2	`formRenderService`

Safety Resources

AW Safety Code

International Scale of River Difficulty

Rescue and Risk Management

Accident Database

Videos

Signage

Safety News

2021-12-13 16:03:56+00

Packrafting: Paddling Remote Locations

2021-09-16 19:22:57+00

Thirteen River Rookie Mistakes to Avoid

2021-09-16 19:22:12+00

Safety Talk – The Human Factor

2021-08-26 15:40:53+00

SELF SUPPORT SAFTEY

2020-10-19 15:49:32+00

Useful Links to Low-Head Dam Safety Issues

2020-04-14 20:44:20+00

Kayakers assist the WV-DNR on a Recovery

2020-04-14 15:51:09+00

Good Article on Flush Drowning from Outside Magazine

2013-06-12 16:23:00+00

AW Partners with Dam Safety Researcher

2013-01-09 18:49:00+00

Life and Death Beyond the Edge

2012-10-03 01:31:00+00

Adding Death into the Equation

2012-04-02 13:04:00+00

Link to Article about Liability & Rescue

2009-07-14 04:00:00+00

Dealing with Sudden Death

2006-09-01 04:00:00+00

The GPS Project: Taking the “Search” out of “Search and Rescue”

2006-02-10 05:00:00+00

A Primer on Critical Incident Stress

2006-02-06 05:00:00+00

American Whitewater's National Accident Study

2006-02-05 05:00:00+00

Whitewater is Safer Than You Think

Params
0	`obLevel`
1	`__env`
2	`app`
3	`hasCGLogo`
4	`errors`
5	`safetyWiki`
6	`safetyNewsVC`
7	`formRenderService`
8	`menu`
9	`searchurl`
10	`loginurl`
11	`logouturl`
12	`__currentLoopData`
13	`child`
14	`loop`
15	`otherchild`
16	`shouldNotifyUser`
17	`user`

Metadata
Bindings	0. veZ7qujhrS1koZLnVnAKI 1. veZ7qujhrS1koZLnVnAKI 2. true
Backtrace	15. /app/Legacy/Repositories/NewsInfo.php:61 16. /app/MetaControllers/NewsMetaController.php:113 17. /app/Http/Controllers/SafetyController.php:29 18. /vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Controller.php:54 19. /vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/ControllerDispatcher.php:45

Metadata
Bindings	0. veZ7qujhrS1koZLnVnAKI 1. true
Backtrace	19. /app/MetaControllers/NewsMetaController.php:89 20. /app/MetaControllers/NewsMetaController.php:122 21. /app/Http/Controllers/SafetyController.php:29 22. /vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Controller.php:54 23. /vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/ControllerDispatcher.php:45

Metadata
Bindings	0. veZ7qujhrS1koZLnVnAKI 1. true
Backtrace	19. /app/MetaControllers/NewsMetaController.php:89 20. /app/MetaControllers/NewsMetaController.php:123 21. /app/Http/Controllers/SafetyController.php:29 22. /vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Controller.php:54 23. /vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/ControllerDispatcher.php:45