Customers are not in a position to judge how much of a threat this might pose to their actual safety.
I'm not so sure about that. I knew the statistics, and I paid full attention in the pre-jump class. A colleague of mine who went with us did not pay attention and shattered one leg from the ankle to the hip. Fortunately, he made a full recovery.
I don't know why any intelligent person would regard jumping out of an airplane as "safe".
1500 jumps in 5 years (not that much), 1 reserve ride, one twisted ankle in early 100 jumps.
Unless they're providing skydiving to young children or the severely mentally disabled - which as I understand things, they aren't.
There's obv something wrong at the The Lodi Parachute Center, but bars onsite to the remaining private airports are common. eg Lake Paris. "We did not witness the pilot consuming alcohol" is an insinuation, indicating a lack of supporting facts.
https://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/
These are a blip. I don't see the reason for outrage. Take risks and sometimes it doesn't work out. I rather the govt spend resources somewhere else.
It's interesting you focus on the alcohol claim but not any of the accusations mentioned in the article that would have gotten people killed.
Additionally, enforcement is extremely weak, and even with these lesser penalties, police will do everything they can to avoid dealing them out, even when they apply.
It would be ridiculous if we locked up the people who happened to kill others while not driving particularly dangerously. Justice is not being served by locking up the unfortunate unlucky sods while everyone else is engaging in the exact same risky behavior. It's why cops are unlikely to go after someone who say killed someone while speeding a not crazy amount; the thousands of drivers that go by every other day are doing the same thing. But they will throw the book at the statistical outliers of dangerous driving.
But if those folks couldn’t drive in the US with the way things are currently setup socioeconomically, everyone would have a huge problem.
And it usually isn’t that big of a deal - or at least emotionally doesn’t feel like an unreasonable risk, which is all society cares about.
At least 10-25% of drivers I see in the road are constantly on their phone. So it’s definitely not enforced enough to deter that.
I am a certified FAA Rigger, 1500 jumps, used to be an AFF Instructor.
(I will make this my default Yelp review for local restaurants...)
The same probably can't be said for most skydivers (I assume most are first timers ticking off a bucket list item.)
Most people are not professional ship drivers, and so big ships are much harder to recognize as "bad" just by looking at it.
And the entire world is filled with "required, but ignored" waivers and such, and people just kind of "do what the professionals are saying."
The point isn't about if you think something is dangerous, but how dangerous it is. There are a bunch of near accidents and minor accidents because people fail to realize their limitations and the vehicle dynamics. I constantly see people texting, tailgating, and not understanding the law (right of way isuses). Many people are wildly overconfident, showing they don't really know the risks and engage in risky behavior that they aren't even aware of.
Also, drivers know all about near misses. Their propensity to near miss is based off their knowledge that major accidents are quiet infrequent for most drivers (most will never be in a life-threatening crash, and minor crashes are a "once in several years" occassion for most drivers.)
Yet stereotypes are exactly what you're talking about when it comes to anecdotal evidence in your prior comment. Most people don't think about the what ifs, or possible outcomes. They're making stereotypes based on the experiences they do have. Stuff like how dangerous driving in the snow is if your a southerner or a northerner.
"Also, drivers know all about near misses."
I've seen some rather oblivious drivers who didn't realize how close they came to injury or death. The statistics for either activity isn't particularly helpful because individual scenarios can be wildy different.
"Personal experience aren't stereotypes."
How do you think stereotypes start? It's personal experience coupled with group think. A perfect example is how people think nice sunny days are safer for driving. Yet in reality they are risky because people pay less attention and drive faster than in the rain. So yes, there are common stereotypes of the safety of various conditions.
This is why we have vehicle safety regulations.
The UK driving test takes more than twice as long and involves way more maneuvers - though it looks like they've dropped three point turns and reversing left around a corner according to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_driving_test#Ma...
The regulations don't matter if people don't know them or choose not to follow them.