There's no substitute for logging river miles, and trip leaders need to be the kind of people who enjoy going out on their free time and running rivers on a regular basis. It is only through actual river experience that people really learn about rivers, their moods and hazards, the complexities of working with groups and the intricacies of making decisions. A great variety of factors enter into nearly any decision made on the water. To understand the decision making process, it is helpful to identify contributory factors and understand their relationship to one another. The lists go on and on.
Participants can then take some responsibility of their safety.
Having participants on river trips fully involved with minimizing hazards is a powerful ingredient in making safe river trips. Trips are safer by far when all members of the party are watching out for one another. The most important aspect of preventing accidents occurs at the decision making stage when less experienced boaters depend on those with more experience. The use of river accident case studies as a teaching aid is sobering, eye opening and enlightening. Case studies vividly describe what can go wrong when basic river safety procedures are violated.