Is Bungee Jumping Safe?

They just showed on Fox a home video of some guy bungee jumping and the cord snapping for apparantely no reason. I've always though it was safe. Does anyone know how common theses accidents are, because jumping is something I've always wanted to do. Also, I've been on many sky coasters and slingshots, how does the experience compare? Thanls. *** Edited 4/11/2004 1:39:57 AM UTC by Stitch***

well you just answered your own question.......the slingshot is the same as the bungee except in reverse. And like everyone else says in post.........IF IT WASNT SAFE IT WOULDNT BE OPERATING!!

But during a slingshot the cords come into affect when you are at your minimum speed, and in bungee jumping, when at your top speed. So coasterbruh, just like you said, in reverse. ;)

Actually, it's up to the operator how safe these kind of things can be, as with all rides. Just because something is operating it doesn't mean it's 100% safe as nothing can be that safe. Incidents has happened with slingshots, because of bad maintenance or whatever.
But life is full of risktaking, but the chance of something will actually happen is very, very small.

Jusy like olov says. Of the hundreds of thousands of jumps a few will go wrong. The chances are very slim but the chances of getting into a car accident on the drive home are probably at lot higher than dying while you bungee jump.

SCAD towers are "safe" too, you know.

It's safer than driving. Even more so if there's a net or airbag....if the unthinkable happens then, hopefully you will only break a limb :)

If you can muster up the courage, both Bungee and SCAD are worth it!

I really don't know if I'd do a SCAD, Peabody. Not after the accidents. Well, not unless improvements that I can ACTUALLY SEE are implimented.

I believe that the safety lies exclusively in the operators hands. There are several bungy operators who have never had an accident. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so.

I've jumped twice, but they were back to back. I had the privelege to be in Queenstown, NZ a few years ago. This is where bungy started. A.J. Hacket is the guy who invented the sport. He got the idea from watching some tribal ritual in Vanuatu. The participants would have vines attached to their ankles and then jump off a platform. The difference with bungy is that they often hit the ground before being wrenched back into the air. Then again they weren't jumping from as high as bungy jumps occur from. Hacket then developed what we now know as bungy jumping.

Anyway I decided to jump with his company since they have been around the longest and at the time of my jump they had never had a single accident. I'm not sure if they still have a perfect record, but I wouldn't be surprised. I figured if I was ever going to do it, that was the time and place for it. Much better then trying it at the local fair (where most of the accidents seem to occur).

It's a great rush and I would say go for it. Just research the company you want to jump with. I believe Hacket has some facilities in the U.S.

http://www.ajhackett.com/index.php?page=history

*** Edited 4/11/2004 7:06:59 AM UTC by Incidentalist***

Elastic Band + Bridge = Lots of fun.

Incidentalist: I was watching Ripley's Believe it or Not and they showed the AJ Hackett site in Vegas where a guy jumped and when he came back up the cord wrapped around his neck. It didn't show if he died or not. I really don't think it is all the operators fault if your ok. If the bungee cord snaps theres not much they could have done about it. *** Edited 4/11/2004 1:51:19 PM UTC by SFgadvMAN***

I jumped years ago when a company set up shop at Geauga Lake. I did it several times and was only really scared the first time. I knew what went into the process so I felt safe.

Probably would not do it now that I am older and more sane.

---

wahoo skipper said:Probably would not do it now that I am older and more sane.

---

Amen to that. It was fun when I jumped, but still scary as hell. I still might do it now, but I would definately give it more than a few seconds thought as I did that time.

---

If the bungee cord snaps theres not much they could have done about it.

---

The idea is to prevent it from ever happening... proper care of the cords, and regular, thorough, well-trained inspections will make the probability of a catastrophic failure essentially nill. It's when the cords get old, have dirt ground into the elastic core, or are stored incorrectly that you need to start worrying.

That said, they still don't match my idea of fun :)

---

Michael Darling said:
I really don't know if I'd do a SCAD, Peabody. Not after the accidents. Well, not unless improvements that I can ACTUALLY SEE are implimented.

---

I remember the Iaapa accident....ahve there been any other ones? Any deaths? I really don't know.

THe one I did you were raised in tandem with the catch net, so I wasn't too worried about a repeat of the Iaapa thing.

Most bungee operators, if they're reputable (this would include many of the North American/European/Australian companies) will have a non-elastic sheath of webbing included within the bungee cords that is longer than the bungee's max elongation. Thus, if the cord were to snap, the webbing will take over -- therefore no nasty human smacking into ground problems. It's a redundant safety measure, which is meant to supplant regular replacement of the bungee cords (their lifetime is usually between 750-1000 jumps, depending on the material the cords were constructed from).

So is bungee jumping safe? Of course not; don't be fooled, few extreme activities are. However, if you combine safety-minded operators with safety-conscious participants, the risks are greatly minimized. As for the Fox TV clips, ignore 'em -- I find that watching "Real TV" and most Fox reality shows are much more dangerous anyways. ;)

-Skydiving Jeff
* 7 regular bungee jumps and 2 out of a helicopter, and I'm still kickin'...

---

SFgadvMAN said:
Incidentalist: I was watching Ripley's Believe it or Not and they showed the AJ Hackett site in Vegas where a guy jumped and when he came back up the cord wrapped around his neck. It didn't show if he died or not.

---

I believe that I've seen the same footage although it was with a different show. The guy did end up surviving. *** Edited 4/13/2004 3:03:22 AM UTC by flickerstick***