[trianglesphere]

Those number's aren't that related to low head dams (most low head dams fatalities are swimmers, not whitewater kayakers or rafters or rec kayakers). While the mechanism behind low head dams (technical term hydrolic, informally called a 'hole') can directly or indirectly kill you, they're typically a natural feature in whitewater fatalities.

I know those numbers b/c it lets me tell my parents that whitewater kayaking isn't as dangerous as they think.

[mlac]

Never, ever, go over a low head dam in a kayak. The danger with them is that they do not kick you out like a normal hole. You go over, and if you don’t clear the hydraulic, you get pulled back in. Then it can hold your boat indefinitely as it drifts back and forth across the river. Then you pull your skirt and you are now a swimmer being recycled in a low head dam. Low head dams make swimmers out of boaters, and kill the swimmers. Do not ever go over one.

And rafting / kayaking is definitely a calculated risk. Skill is involved. Freak accidents can occur that just wouldn’t if you weren’t on the river, but if one is smart about it, it can be about as safe as any other recreational activity (skiing, boating, mountain biking). With friends trained in rescue and experience the safety margin goes up.

For others reading this, the danger depends on what kind of river you’re running, the temperature, and a ton of other factors. In a boat, you’re likely to die if you can’t roll the boat back up and you hit your head / get knocked out, or your boat gets trapped upside down. After you bail from the boat, you could get pinned or caught up in trees, pulled under big rocks that are undercut, trap your ankle in a rock (in shallow water), which then pushes your body underwater downstream, die from exposure / drowning (you wash down the river faster than anyone can get you and just give up the will to live because it’s too cold / you can’t stay above it anymore).

[bombcar]

I did a similar calculation when deciding to learn to fly small planes (vs buying a motorcycle) - the accidental death rate is higher for both compared to driving a car - but pilot error is the cause of something like 90% of GA fatalities. But 40% or something of motorcycle fatalities are not the fault of the biker - he did everything right but someone else (or something else) got him.

[watertom]

As a motorcyclist you are 4% less likely to be involved in an accident as compared to an automobile, but 27 TIMES more likely to die.

A friend is a Navy pilot, and a crash investigator, trust you instruments all the time.

[istjohn]

But the overall rate of GA fatalities is much higher than for motorcycling.