# Google has failed me! What percentage of drowning victims can swim? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653 "2010-08-09T01:05:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/21 "2010-08-09T22:14:15Z")
I remember a myth busters about a car going into the water where they seemed to think surviving was iffy even if you could swim. Luckily the mythbuster guy had an air tank. I would bet that going off the road into the water is kind of rare anyway. Speaking as a non swimmer, I don’t go in boats either. Besides, like I said, I was open to the possibility that I’m wrong. So far, I think the truth remains undiscovered. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/22 "2010-08-10T13:09:47Z")
Going off the road into the water isn’t rare at all - depends on where you live, but I see it happen locally maybe once a year. And you never know when, say, you’ll be driving over a bridge on 95 and see a wreck happen in front of you where a toddler gets ejected over the side - three guys jumped in after her and pulled her out, although she died later at the hospital of her injuries. (Wasn’t even on the news here - saw it on the front of one of the small town papers we process at the library.) You’re okay with standing on the side watching the kid drown? ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/23 "2010-08-10T20:36:36Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > You’re okay with standing on the side watching the kid drown? Yeah, that’s what I meant to say. As a person frightened of the water and not learning to swim I am totally without morals or empathy of any kind. You nailed me. ---
**Author:** ![Sandra\_DiFranco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Sandra\_DiFranco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandra_DiFranco)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/24 "2010-10-29T21:41:01Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > So, regarding the thread in IMHO about people who can’t swim, I took it upon myself to determine what percentage of people who died by drowning were non-swimmers as opposed to those who could swim. I learned drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death for children age 1-14. I learned that males are 3.7 times more likely to drown than females. What I could not learn, was what proportion of adolescents and adults who drown can actually swim. (I’m not counting the toddlers and very young children here, since I think I can assume that hardly any of them can swim.) > > Your mission, fellow dopers, should you choose to accept it, is to find the answer to this burning question. I sure couldn’t! Perhaps this should be in GQ. Mods, feel free to move it if you feel you ought. > > BTW, as a non-swimmer, I think I can safely report that my chances of drowning are effectively zero, unless I have a stroke while in the tub. I just have a nagging suspicion that swimmers are MORE likely to drown since they engage in recreational water sports that non swimmers do not. Of course boating falls into this equation, and I am, however, open to the possibility of being wrong. The best scientific evidence available has taught us that 1.2 million people around the world die by drowning every year. Drowning rates vary considerable around the world for a number of reasons. Some countries are prone to flooding, in which more people unexpectedly find themselves in water emergencies. The great majority of drownings occur in circumstances where the victim has no intention of going into the water. Once you find yourself in water emergency, and you don’t know how to swim, you’re screwed. The high drowning rate of older people may be related to difficulties managing emergency situations. Many older people have never learned to swim. They also are more likely to have health problems that can cause loss of consciousness while swimming, such as a heart attack or low blood pressure. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/25 "2010-10-29T21:56:02Z")
Plus, you haven’t accounted for the numbers of people pulled underwater by zombies. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/26 "2010-10-29T23:04:52Z")
Being able to swim isn’t the issue in a lot of cases. I got caught in an undertow and wasn’t able to swim back to shore. In those cases I knew that you are supposed to swim parallel to the shore until you find a spot where there undertow isn’t as strong. I flipped over on my back and just floated with some gentle paddling until I came to a cove. At that point I aimed for the cove. There was no current at that point and I made it safely to shore. Knowledge trumps swimming ability. Even strong swimmers drown trying to fight a current and even people who can’t swim can learn to float. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/27 "2010-10-30T12:36:29Z")
I heard a long while back that 1/2 of people who drown are drunk at the time. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/28 "2010-10-30T12:51:35Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Does the statistic of 1/4 to 1/3 of drowners having had swimming lessons (assuming the lessons were successful) not tell you what you are asking, or am I misunderstanding? How much does the number of people who’ve had swimming lessons correlate with the number of people who can swim? I’ve never taken swimming lessons but I can swim just fine. I’ve never thought to ask if the people I know have had lessons; I guess I’ve just assumed that most people are like me and knew how to swim without being taught. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653/29 "2010-10-30T18:42:50Z")
I have kayaked in cold water (40-50 degrees) and when you hit cold water it really is quite a shock to your body. In my case I was wearing a life vest and a dry suit so I was OK. I can imagine that anybody who hits cold water in normal clothes might not be able to recover even if they are a good swimmer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-has-failed-me-what-percentage-of-drowning-victims-can-swim/549653.md?page=1)