California Drowning Statistics | Child Drowning Rates Drop: The following are some welcome news during the height of swimming season. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data are showing that child drowning rates have continued to decline in California even in the past decade.
Drowning rates for children 14 and younger have fallen by about a third since the early 1980s, a similar but less dramatic decline for the entire country.
In addition to increased awareness of the dangers of letting young children swim alone, experts say state and local laws that require more fence and security features around family swimming pools have had an impact.
California Drowning Statistics | Child Drowning Rates Drop
According To Federal Data
586 California children aged 14 and younger drowned in accidents from 1980 to 1982, resulting in a death rate of 3.7 per 100,000 children.
A sharp decline was seen in the 1990s, with the death rate dropping to about 1.4 per 100,000 people from 1999 to 2001. One hundred eighty-six children drowned in California between 2015 and 2017. Based on 100,000 children, this figure translates to 0.8 drownings.
Children aged 14 and under drowned at a rate of 2.9 per 100,000 in the three years between 1980 and 1982. (4,417 deaths). From 2015 to 2017, this rate dropped to 1.1 per 100,000 people (2,051 deaths).
Despite improvements, drowning is still the leading cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States. Children are age group are more likely to drown in a swimming pool than in an unprotected body of natural water.
River Smith’s death in June, the 3-year-old son of country singer Granger Smith, serves as a stark reminder of the dangers. As River’s father and siblings played nearby, he drowned in the swimming pool at his family’s Texas home.
Drowning Is A Silent Event
In 20 to 60 seconds, Adam Katchmarchi, executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, explains that drowning is often a silent event. What parents don’t realize is that this can happen to children in a matter of days.
strict uniform building codes are directly responsible for the sharp decline in accidental drownings in California.
We have the strongest, most stringent pool fencing law in the country, if not the world. It’s a national and international first, Why don’t other states adopt California’s law?
Incidents Due To Drowning
The babysitter left Riggsbee’s 2-year-old daughter and 14-month-old son unattended for a brief period in San Ramon, California, in the late 1970s.
A sliding door that left unlock by the babysitter after letting the family dog out was opened by the children, who entered through the pool door.
The Contra Costa County ordinance was passed a few years later. It become the first in the nation to require pool fencing.
She and other advocates urged other communities to adopt similar ordinances. They were successful. The state legislature pass the Swimming Pool Safety Act in the late 1990s, which was their most significant success.
New Measures For California Drowning Statistics
New pool construction must include one of the following safety features: a fence that separates the pool from home; an adequate swimming pool cover; exit alarms on doors leading from the house to the pool area.
Self-closing, latching doors leading from the home to the pool area; or a safety device that is at least equivalent to those four measures.
Before the law went into effect in 1995 and 1996, 269 California children drowned due to an accident. As a comparison, 125 California children drowned in 2016 and 2017 — a drop of more than 50 percent.
Other safety measures were added to the law in the mid-2000s, including a pool alarm that sounds. When someone enters the water without authorization and a removable mesh pool fence with self-closing, latching doors.
Adoptes Measures By Saftey organization
International Swimming Pool and Spa Code has adopts as a model by national safety organizations. And continues to push by states and cities.
As part of the code, physical barriers must be installed around swimming pools and standards for gates and latches. According to industry data, the code has been adopted by 21 states and more than 180 local agencies so far.
Children drowning rates in California vary despite statewide standards. As a result, child drowning rates are higher in the state’s arid Central Valley, known for its long, scorching summers.
There are days and months of heat ahead. As a result, more families are taking advantage of the pools.
Last year, the California legislature passed a bill that Riggsbee and other advocates. They hope will reduce the number of drownings of children in the state in the years to come.
Existing private pools must be equipped with two safety measures, not just one.
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