Can You Drown on a Water Slide?
You can drown on a water slide. It is possible to drown in very shallow water if positioned face down. Drowning can occur even in a few inches of water. Water slides often have shallow splash pools at the end. If you go down the slide head first and hit the water wrong, you might drown. Your body could get stuck in the slide tube. The moving water could trap you there. It would cover your head. You wouldn’t be able to breathe. So yes, you could drown on a water slide.
What Happens if You Fall Out of a Tube on a Water Slide?
If you fall off a tube on a water slide, you may be struck by other tubes or rafts. This can push you forcibly into concrete or plastic walls. If riders hit their head, they risk falling unconscious and face a high risk of drowning.
Water Slide Safety and Risks
Not Falling Off the Water Slide
How do you not fall off water slide? If the slide has a slope, then the force from the slide is at an angle instead of completely opposite the force of gravity. This makes the person speed up as he or she slides down. The longer and taller a slide is, the steeper the lower half can be for it to still be safe for riders.
Water Slide Whiplash
Can you get whiplash from a water slide? If the tubes flip someone over or turn quickly on the way down a slide, it can cause whiplash, neck strains, or back injuries.
Water Slide Safety Concerns
Tunnel slides can be dangerous because the rider is unable to see what is going on or where the end of the slide is when they are riding. Inexperienced riders may already have difficulty holding their breath while swimming and jumping into water.
Science Behind Water Slides
The science behind the working of a water slide: Water slides use a pump that pushes the water to the top which is then allowed to fall back into the pool. At the top, a lifeguard is present so that they can help in case of an injury. This helps to reduce friction between the slide and the slider allowing them to travel down quickly. To understand this better, let us consider the example of a certain slider, who begins by climbing up the stairs to the platform. The slider starts at the top of the slide, where its potential energy is the highest. As they begin to slide down due to the downward force of gravity, the potential energy gets converted to kinetic energy.