Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - Accidents & Injuries

Report Accidents and Injuries

Topic Date User

Alice Springs abseiling fatality - Sat 13th Nov 15-Nov-2010 At 7:47:49 AM Richard Delaney

Message

On 14/11/2010 Paul wrote:
>On 14/11/2010 Doug Bruce wrote:
>>Pretty sad story, but there you go.
>>In recent years, if I had an SLCD for the number of times I have felt
>>compelled to suggest someone might lift the WAISTBAND of their harness
>>up to their waist and tighten it, I'd be able to open a climbing shop.
>>And I can't help but wonder ... is this connected to the current trend
>>of young blokes wearing the crutch of their jeans at about mid-thigh
>level?
>
>There are many people out there who through being fat or through being
>very skinny with narrow hips do not fit the safety recomendations for waist
>harnesses and should therefore use a chest harness as well to create a
>full body harness. I read a coriners report a few years ago involving an
>incident where someone fell out of a harness.
>
That report (assuming it's the same one from a flying fox accident in Victoria) was concerning the possibility of falling out - the injured party did not fall out, rather they became disconnected from the attachment lanyard.
I certainly agree that many are far too relaxed about ensuring harness fit and the use of chest harnsesses. The most important harness fit test is: can you, if you really had to, pull it down? The hand down the front, make a fist, pull it up test is completely bogus. Also, "hips" are the joints where your femur meets your pelvis, not the top of the wings of the iliac crests... I've heard many try to get harnesses in the waist above these wings. Physically impossible for many to get their belt here.
Sorry, rant over - just a pet hate of mine and that coroner's report has been used/quoted so many times out of context that I just can't help myself.
If you were referring to another report, do you have any more details?
Richard