Asessing Risk
Legislation and Laws
Lymm Bay
The Lyme Bay kayaking tragedy was the deaths of four teenagers on a sea kayaking accident in the Lyme Bay area which led to legislation to regulate adventure activities centres working with young people in the UK.
On 22 March 1993, a group of eight schoolchildren and their teacher from Southway Community College, Plymouth were accompanied by two instructors from an outdoor centre on a kayak trip across Lyme Bay, on the south coast of England.
As a result of a series of errors and circumstances, four of the teenagers drowned. The party had run into difficulties straight away as one kayak became swamped. The group was swept out to sea, where all their kayaks were quickly swamped.
What are the repercussions of this?
As a result of this things have had to change. What was not done correctly? Why were people killed as a result?
Where can we find information that can help protect people from this happening again?
Look at the following links to research what should be in place to ensure tragedies like the one above do not happen again. Feedback to a classmate on your findings. Be critical, think about how laws and legislation can really help.
What would you do?
Think about a trip you might go on and in a small group think about all the aspects needed to make it safe. Are yo covered if an accident occurs?
Further reading
Follow the link below for some further reading about the consequences of poor health and safety management.