Signing-Off to Let Your Minor Kid Jump..?!

[riddler 0]

Personally, I don't care if parents let their kids jump - that's their decision. But I do care about how it affects my own jumping. At the point that kids start dying while skydiving, the FAA will step in and start regulating a LOT more than they do now. We don't need that kind of government interference in skydiving.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[itllclear 1]

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Personally, I don't care if parents let their kids jump - that's their decision. But I do care about how it affects my own jumping. At the point that kids start dying while skydiving, the FAA will step in and start regulating a LOT more than they do now. We don't need that kind of government interference in skydiving.

I'm not so worried about the FAA as I am about local governments. As a result of a string of accidents at a single DZ in Nevada, the State Legislature got involved and passed laws regulating skydiving in that state. With some lobbying by Ed Scott and others, the law now only requires that jumps be made in accordance with USPA BSR's, but it could have been a lot more restrictive. We may not be so fortunate next time.

The other issue is the cost to each of us, not only the DZO and Tandem Instructor, if there is a claim for injuries to a jumper without a waiver.

When a lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff normally names as a defendant EVERYONE who might have been involved, from the Tandem Instructor to the gear manufacturer to the gardner who mowed the grass on which the landing occurred. Even if the individually named defendant had NOTHING to do with the injury, there will be a cost of defending against the lawsuit. That cost will be passed on to each individual jumper in the form of higher gear prices and/or jump tickets. The existence of a well thought out and prepared waiver usually significantly reduces those costs. Bill Booth has, in the past, often shown no hesitation in giving his numbers to anyone who really cares.

The question then becomes; "Do we each want to pay higher lift rates and gear prices because an individual DZO or Instructor wanted to take a student up without a waiver?"

Right now, the thought of

1) Having to pay prices any higher than I already am, and/or
2) Having to drive or fly to another state to make a jump

doesn't appeal to me.

Blue Skies!

Harry

"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there."

"Your statement answered your question."

[Witelli 0]

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A kids sees it as a carnival ride, they 'trust' nothing can happen to them because WE as parents try to instill in them,
that we'll see to it nothing WILL harm them...

Sure the odds a small % that anything will happen, but if it did...it's 100% sure that I failed them as a parent. I personally can't conceive the thought of my child's broken body before me, KNOWING that I knew there was even a slight chance they would be injured...and I let them do it.

If as an 'adult' THEY choose to skydive, drink to excess, take drugs...WHATEVER...it's THEIR decision as a somewhat informed 'adult'.

You said it perfectly. Our children rely on our decisions to ensure their safety, not their own. Who are we to put them in harms way, when they are unknowing of the risk. But then again, I'm terrified of carnival rides. Look around the carnival and tell me you trust that those people are maintaining the equipment properly. That might not be a good example.

[Witelli 0]

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I think it would suck to be a kid now, because when it comes to perceived dangers (in particular, violence at schools), the sheltering instinct is in overdrive. A broken arm is now a near death experience, not a common accident of childhood.

Certain risks gets too much attention, others are completely ignored. I hear there is a strong move to ban heading the ball in soccer - might cause brain trauma. How did we ever manage in the (for me, not too distant) old days?

I'll tell you. Being a kid now must suck. There's too many assholes out there nowadays endangering our kids. I don't know where they came from, but from being a parent I notice it every day. Skydiving is probably safer than letting your kid ride around the block. In the real world it seems everyone is looking out for themselves. In skydiving, I'm noticing that everyone looks out for eachother. That's one reason I love the sport.