Accident and Incident Reporting

Life Jacket for safety management

Ideally the best way to prevent harm, is to introduce measures that reduce the occurrence of hazards and risks. As mentioned in our Safety Management Policy Statement, the RYA recognises that a risk can never be completely eliminated without terminating the activities.

However, the dominant root causes of most boating accidents are shortcomings in knowledge and human behaviour, and these are therefore major factors in the control of risk. Initiatives to share information are invaluable for imparting knowledge and influencing behaviour.

With this in mind the RYA Safety Management System includes procedures to ensure that non-conformities, accidents and hazardous situations are reported, analysed and shared with the objective of improving safety. As a result, the RYA has established a number of triggers for reporting and recording accidents and incidents which are mandatory in the case of RYA organised events. However, the RYA is keen to hear from clubs and individuals as well using the guidance below.

Related documents

Guidance on major incident planning

The RYA requires that an accident or incident is reported to the RYA if it involves an RYA organised event, an RYA Recognised Training Centre or an RYA Coded Small Commercial Vessel but reports from clubs and individuals are also welcomed.