I’m not an engineer. Not even close. I’m one of the last people you would want to design a bridge, or a boat hull or even the tow hitch on your truck. Engineers deal with data: numbers, spreadsheets, shear tests, simulation models and other stuff. They design impeccable kayaking safety equipment, yet somehow we still get caught up in the hazards of kayak fishing.
Kayaking Hazards and the Human Factor
The shortcomings of your average end user annoy engineers enough they have a name for us: the human factor. Like I said, I’m not an engineer. I don’t deal with numbers. I deal with humans.
Anglers don’t spend a lot of time thinking about safety. We put on a life vest, carry the right gear, let our spouse know the plan and we’re off into the unknown. Safety is too often a backdrop rather than a primary focus. First and foremost, we fish—until we get in our own way.
Studying the Human Factor
Engineers have developed a field to study the human factor. Experts try to understand how otherwise capable people fail to make reliable decisions. Airline pilots, military units and surgical teams have come under study, as have professional athletes and avalanche rescue teams.
It turns out to be pretty simple: ego and peer pressure can easily get in the way when we likely know better. These human factors are subtle, powerful, and often beyond our own recognition. Luckily for us though, we follow some predictable patterns when it comes to getting in our own way.
Safety instructors use the acronym FACETS to describe the forces leading to the human factor. Applied to kayak fishing, the human factor looks like this.
FACETS of the Human Factor
Familiarity
The hazards of our local fishing environment become dulled with familiarity. This does not lessen their potential for harm. Being comfortable around powerboat traffic does not mean it won’t hurt you.
Acceptance from Peers
This is the peer pressure category. Many of us fish alone, but we still do things we think are required of kayak anglers. Peer pressure is a potent force, subtly when no one is around or blatantly when friends shame you to stick it out as the wind kicks up. The decision shifts to satisfying peers rather than assessing our own ability.
Commitment
Driving eight hours to fish makes it incredibly difficult to cancel when something goes wrong—flood conditions, late launch, or forgotten safety gear be damned. I once scolded a dude for kayak fishing a whitewater stretch without a PFD. He said he left it at home and wasn’t going to miss out on a day on the river. Then he called me a dick.
Expert Halo
Having skilled people around can mistakenly lower the group’s collective guard. When we assume Mr. Expert has everything covered, we loosen our situational awareness. I certainly see this as a guide. My clients turn off their brains when the guide is around. It also plays out in a group of friends, when individuals subconsciously believe their buddy has them covered.
Traffic
Busy fishing areas put subtle pressure on people to hurry up. Ever feel like you need to rush the launch when other trucks are lining up to unload boats? This ups the odds of forgetting key gear or losing the keys or other dumb-ass moves.
Social Proof
Seeing other paddlers out fishing in big waves or putting in with a storm brewing gives us subconscious permission to do the same. Social proof says: hey, they are doing it, so I can too.
All of these human factors confound the engineers who design our gear, but also confound our better judgement. Research tells us people predictably use subjective factors to make decisions regarding objective hazards. It is like using apples to assess the oranges.
How to Strip Away Subjective Factors
There is, of course, a way to combat this. It is simple and somewhat universal in decision making: after you make your decision to put on the water or stay out in the weather, ask yourself, “If I were alone out here and no one else was around, would I make the same decision?”
It is a simple attempt to strip away the subjective human factors getting in the way of good choices. If nothing else, it will make the engineers happy.
This article was first published in the Spring 2019 issue of Kayak Angler Magazine. Subscribe to Kayak Angler Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Human factors can get in the way of good judgement when it comes to kayaking hazards. | Feature photo: Courtesy of Perception Kayaks
Spot on.
Some people absolutely refuse to respect the water. I wear my PFD every outing along with all required safety gear. I can’t understand why people would have a PFD on the deck of their kayak instead of on their body. At best the beam on a kayak is 3 feet. It’s not a question of if you flip, it’s a question of when you flip and are you prepared. It would be double tough if not impossible to don a PFD in the water and zip it up while keeping your kayak close. Don’t be a statistic, wear your PFD. Your family loves you and wants you to come home.