Use of Automatic Activation Devices (AADs) should... (Poll Closed)

You needed a choice "f". be mandatory for student jumpers (this is only because of lawyers) and be optional for everyone else. If "a" or "c' ever come to pass, a lot of jumpers may just stop jumping.

I voted for "A" simply because the more people that use them, the better it is for the sport. Not only that, it SHOULD make the cost go way down since more people will be buying them. If more people view the sport as relatively safe, then more people will do it.

Steve, I think "B" is the same as the "F" you proposed.

AADs are bad for the Skydiving gene pool. Skydivers that don't pull are allowed to have kids that won't pull, and so on...
Seriously, I do not see how the use of AADs makes our sport more safe. I have an AAD (and turn it on each jumping day) but I do not rely on it for my safety...nor should anyone

Matthew - 6/19/2009 4:03:55 PM
There's no option for what I would consider the correct answer: Be optional, but strongly recommended, for everyone.

bill - 6/26/2009 5:17:57 AM
Any mechanical or electro-mechanical device can fail as well. Every component added to a system, be it a parachute or an airplane, is another opportunity for a failure, possibly catastrophic in nature.

Richard - 6/27/2009 10:07:53 PM
We don't need more bureaucratic mandates. Enough. As an example, I disagreed with Joe Svec, years ago, and his obsession against blast handles. Leave us alone to make our own choices as experienced jumpers.

The box - 7/2/2009 11:17:35 AM
If the people who are trying to mandate aad's for all jumpers make 10 jumps and have to rely solely on their aad to pull on all 10 jumps i'm for it.Let them put their money where their mouth is!

Larry Chernis - 7/2/2009 2:50:22 PM
I am concerned that as we become dependent on AADs, we may become less accountable for our own altitude awareness and self preservation.

William - 7/2/2009 11:42:29 PM
Keep your laws,rules,regulations,mandates,demands off my rig! Required for students & tandems is fine, your protecting those who know no better, once off students jumps it MUST be a personal choice ,any USPA DZ demanding use by expert jumpers should be dropped from the group membership.

Larry Chernis - 7/2/2009 2:52:48 PM
I am concerned that as we become dependent on AADs, we may become less accountable for our own altitude awareness and self preservation.

Outside the 'Box' - 7/3/2009 7:15:19 AM
At the end of the day it comes down to having fun with what your doing, getting better at what you do, but most of all, let common sense prevail... safety is the most paramount of all issues when skydiving (if you ask me).
Jeff - 7/3/2009 7:52:08 AM
I feel AADs can and do save lives, so I “choose” to use one on a majority of my jumps. I don't feel we should be forced to use one for every jump.

Jeff - 7/3/2009 9:37:05 AM
I feel AADs can and do save lives, so I “choose” to use one on a majority of my jumps. I don't feel we should be forced to use one for every jump.
Brandon Chouinard - 7/7/2009 7:27:37 PM
AAD's are a good idea for students and I would not be against making mandatory requirement for student jumps. However I am strongly against AAD's being mandatory for experienced jumpers as this is a personal choice. Too many of our personal freedoms are taken away by politics and regulations "for our own protection". We don't need protection, we need freedom and education. Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.

Brandon Chouinard - 7/7/2009 7:27:37 PM
AAD's are a good idea for students and I would not be against making mandatory requirement for student jumps. However I am strongly against AAD's being mandatory for experienced jumpers as this is a personal choice. Too many of our personal freedoms are taken away by politics and regulations "for our own protection". We don't need protection, we need freedom and education. Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.

Brandon Chouinard - 7/7/2009 7:29:11 PM
AAD's are a good idea for students and I would not be against making mandatory requirement for student jumps. However I am strongly against AAD's being mandatory for experienced jumpers as this is a personal choice. Too many of our personal freedoms are taken away by politics and regulations "for our own protection". We don't need protection, we need freedom and education. Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.
Brandon Chouinard - 7/7/2009 7:31:17 PM
We don't need AAD mandates, that's a personal choice. We need the freedom and education to make the best choice as individuals. Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.

Brandon Chouinard - 7/7/2009 7:32:04 PM
We don't need AAD mandates, that's a personal choice. We need the freedom and education to make the best choice as individuals. Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.

I'm reading some pretty scary comments on this thread. A DZ shouldn't operate because they require AADs? Keep your rules off my rig? Who are these skydivers who think nothing can happen to them? I am a newly licensed jumper and I vehemently disagree with the idea that I have come to rely on it. Other than checking it for operation before leaving the ground, I forget it's even part of the system. Maybe these overconfident skydivers weren't trained at a DZ that drills into your head the fact that AADs are a) only a backup, b) not to be relied on, and c) aren't 100% effective. Are these the same jumpers I see pulling low enough to fire an AAD? What about the possibility of a midair crash rendering one of you mistake-less jumpers unconscious? Or when you do the same to me? When you're participating as a witness in the investigation of the body will you then say, "at least the USPA didn't make him use an AAD?"

Once again, in plain 'ol English. Not having an AAD on your rig is in a sense like driving with no seat belt. You can more than likely make it to your destination safely, but what happens that one time you need that "safety belt"? Try falling asleep behind the wheel and waking up to the impact of a tree (without a belt that is)...or maybe a mid air collision that renders you unconscious (without an AAD that is)...the results would likely be just a tad different than if you had them. Bottom line: It's always better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it...

--The guy thinking safe--