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A brochure published by the State of Minnesota on the extreme dangers of paddling near low head dams.

CRITICAL JUDGMENT II Understanding and Preventing Canoe and Kayak Fatalities from The American Canoe Association is an analysis of the 500 plus fatal canoe and kayak accidents reported to the United States Coast Guard between 1996 and 2002:

Among fatalities who had been paddling canoes at the time of death, 85% were not wearing a PFD. The odds that individuals who were paddling kayaks when they died were wearing a properly worn PFD was over six times that of their counterparts in canoes. However, nearly half of the fatalities among kayaks were also not wearing PFDs.

Approximately 50 % of victims categorized as canoeing and kayaking fatalities were fishing when the accident occurred.
Approximately 40% of canoeing fatalities for which information is available were in aluminum canoes at the time of the accident.

While the conclusions of the study are not all that surprising they confirm that common sense instruction is the best antidote to accidents in canoes or kayaks. Anyone leading canoe trips will benefit from reading this report.

The Canadian Red Cross released the first module of a 10-year study on drowning in Canada.  The Ice & Cold Water Module of the study focuses on the causes of drowning related to ice and cold water immersion. This study is the first of its kind and will provide critical insight into the causes of drowning and pave the way for better prevention programming in Canada.

This document presents the pertinent facts on risk factors and prevention from a study of nearly 6,000 unintentional drownings and other water-related deaths, as well as for over 3,000 hospitalizations for near drownings in Canada.

Published by the Canadian Red Cross.