A new sport called tube kiting is becoming more and more popular in the world of sports. The idea behind it is that the rider sits atop a very large and occasionally round inflatable water device. This “kite” can be more than 10 feet in diameter. The device is hooked behind a boat with a tow rope and is dragged in such a way that the rider controls his craft by pulling back at the rope. Given that the device is now traveling between 25 and 35 miles an hour, this can be a very dangerous situation.
Indeed, there have already been numerous injuries and a couple deaths related to the sport. Injuries thus far recorded include a broken neck, a punctured lung, many broken ribs, broken femurs, jaw fractures, neck injuries, back injuries, and one reported case where a 14-year-old girl lost conciousness upon impact with the water from 15 feet in the air. All in all, a total of 12 injuries have been reported. The deaths reported include a 33-year-old man from Texas in April of 2006, as well as a 42-year-old man from Wisconsin, who died in June of the same year.
Conditions in this scenario which cause injuries are generally either the rider’s difficulty in controlling his craft, the person in charge of operating the boat is inexperienced, or the tube’s reactions to different types of weather. Highlighted areas of concern are high wind gusts which can cause the rider to tilt uncontrollably and the sudden slowing or stopping of the boat driver, which causes the rider to lose his or her lift and sends them into the water in a nosedive. In some of these cases, the slowing of the boat will cause the rider to glide ahead of the boat, resulting in a collision with the boat or other nearby objects such as bridges.
This form of water sport has been banned in at least one National Park Service area including Lake Powell, where a reported four serious boat injury incidents have been linked to tube kiting.
If you or someone you know has been injured due to a water or boat accident, please feel free to contact a personal injury attorney.
