| Skydiving is a sport that involves many risks. Safety | | | | technology. |
| and risks are different thing. While the risks are | | | | The risks are also directly connected to the |
| measured, the safety is judged. The safety can be | | | | complexity of the system. The difficulty to |
| defined as a personal or social acceptance of a given | | | | understand a system is given by its complexity and |
| risk. | | | | together with this difficulty; the necessity increases |
| In what regards the risks, they are measured as | | | | because only by a better acknowledgement of the |
| quantities. The probability of something to happen | | | | system, the corrections and the ways of preventing |
| combined with the severity of the repercussions give | | | | events are obtained. |
| the risks. The probabilities and the severity are | | | | The assessment of risks |
| divided into categories. The probabilities have five | | | | Understanding a system fully and without gaps will |
| such categories: Frequent, Probable, Occasional, | | | | decrease the risks of unfortunate events. A system |
| Remote and Improbable and the severity of the | | | | must have no secrets for the person that operates |
| action has four categories: Catastrophic, Critical, | | | | it because if there are things that are not |
| Marginal and Negligible. For instance, a rubber band | | | | understood, complications may appear if an event is |
| breaking the risk is "frequent - negligible" while for a | | | | generated by that unknown element. Also, in a |
| double malfunction the risk would be "remote - | | | | system, not only its components should be well |
| catastrophic". "Occasional - catastrophic" or | | | | known, but the reasons of failure too. This is |
| "occasional - critical" are the risks encountered most | | | | obtained through observation and continuous |
| often for malfunctions. | | | | monitoring of the system's performance. Risks can |
| In skydiving, a risk value can be assigned to any | | | | be reduced by prevention of failure or corrective |
| event, based on the given definition. Observation | | | | plans. The causes for system failure can be human, |
| over the years and the measurements from the test | | | | mechanical or environmental. |
| drops should be the base for the value of a risk. Yet, | | | | The risks involved by skydiving |
| this doesn't always happen. | | | | Values of risks can be given to any event in |
| The perception of risk | | | | skydiving. The gear and technique knowledge in |
| The perception of risk is sometime done on a | | | | skydiving is the primary base of the risk value |
| subjective base. The values of risks are higher in | | | | assessment. If a person knows the equipment, the |
| case of voluntary events within control of the | | | | parachute, the characteristics, the techniques and all |
| beholder than in the case of mandatory events that | | | | the other factors involved by skydiving, he or she |
| put a person beyond control. Thus, skydiving | | | | greatly reduces the risks of an event. If the |
| presents a greater risk than breathing air. | | | | equipment is very well known, the system |
| The events followed by dreaded results or | | | | performance monitoring is accurate and malfunctions |
| catastrophic consequences present a higher risk. The | | | | can be discovered in time if they appear, decreasing |
| sports and occupations also have different values of | | | | thus the risks. Different ways to escape injuries also |
| risk depending on the amount of fatalities | | | | reduce the risks, therefore emergency procedures |
| encountered. | | | | and alternative plans have been elaborated. |
| The perceptions of risks can also be affected by the | | | | Understanding the gear, the parachute, its |
| maturation of technology. Taking the example of the | | | | characteristics, acknowledging and using the controls |
| power plants, a coal power plant is less risky than a | | | | properly and having preventing and correcting plans |
| nuclear power plant because people know much | | | | will reduce the risks and increase the effectiveness |
| more things about burning coal than about nuclear | | | | or risks assessment. |