Public awareness of rip currents among American adults

Abstract Rip current awareness is essential for safety of the beach-going American public. In this study, we investigated American adults’ awareness of ocean safety via an online survey. A total of 1226 respondents participated in the survey. The results revealed that only 44% of the participants were aware that rip currents are the major cause of drownings in the United States. Most participants (64%) reported that the best way to escape a rip current was by swimming parallel (sideways) to the shore, while 8% reported it to be floating and letting the current carry one; further 3% of the respondents mentioned screaming for help as a rescue measure. Interestingly, while most of the respondents reported they could swim (71%), the number of White participants among swimmers was four times higher than that of their Asian, Black, American Indian, and Latino counterparts. Furthermore, less than half of the respondents (44%) reported reading and following the posted beach signs with safety information, while around one-fourth (23%) reported swimming near lifeguards. We also found a strong association between the respondents’ knowledge about how to escape a rip current and reading beach ocean safety signs. The findings of this study contribute to previous research on rip currents and may assist in developing more effective ocean safety interventions for the diverse American public visiting various marine environments along the vast U.S. coastline.