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River Crossing Safety 101: Be Aware of Mental Traps

23rd September 2025|4 min

Every year people die in New Zealand’s outdoors while trying to cross a river. By considering the mental traps – or heuristics – that might be influencing your decision-making, you’re less likely to inadvertently or subconsciously throw yourself into a risky situation. As part of River Safety Month, we share ways trampers and other outdoor adventurers can avoid these pitfalls.

 

Scenario

You’re about to finish an awesome tramp with friends to Brewster Hut on the challenging Brewster Track. With the end in sight, you’re keen to get home for a hot shower, some home-cooked kai and a night on the couch. The Haast River is the only thing standing between you and your car, which you can literally see waiting for you in the carpark across the river.

The river was low on your way in, but there’s been rain in the hills and now it’s running higher than normal. You’re not worried as you’ve crossed heaps of rivers without a problem, but you know some of your friends don’t have much river crossing experience. On the far bank, you can see another group has just crossed and are exchanging high fives triumphantly.

If you’re a tramper, you’re likely to face this scenario at one time or another – if you haven’t already. To ensure a safe river crossing, it’s critical not only to have the necessary skills but also the right mindset to make good decisions in the moment.

Heuristics – or mental shortcuts – play a key role in clouding our judgement in the outdoors. These are a set of rules we create for ourselves so we don’t need to think too hard about every decision we make. For instance, when doing the weekly shop, we might always choose the same brand of peanut butter rather than spending time looking at the price, ingredients or nutritional information on other products.

While these shortcuts are useful in our everyday life for making decisions quickly and efficiently, in an unforgiving environment, like New Zealand’s outdoors, they can cloud your judgement and lead to poor decisions that compromise your safety.

When faced with a river crossing, there are four heuristics that commonly catch people out, sometimes resulting in tragic consequences. These are: 

  • Commitment - decisions based on a desire to achieve the end goal or objective.
    In this scenario, you’re committed to get to the car and home. 
  • Familiarity – decisions based on past experiences.
    In this scenario, you’ve been here and done this before, plus heaps of other crossings.
  • Expert halo – deferring decision-making to the perceived expert.
    In this scenario, that’s you. You have the most experience and the group is looking to your leadership.
  • Social proof – decisions based on evidence that others have done it so it must be safe.
    In this scenario, you can see another group has already crossed.

Before attempting a river crossing, take a moment to have an honest conversation with yourself, and your group. We’ve devised four questions that will help you decide if you’re being influenced by your mental shortcuts.

Are There Other Factors Making You More Eager to Cross? 

Consider whether you are putting your goal ahead of your safety. If your objective is to get home – and you’re tired and hungry – you may be ignoring the red flags that would make the crossing unsafe.

Have You Crossed Here Before?

Familiarity can lead to complacency. If you’ve crossed the river safely in the past, that experience could lull you into a false sense of security. You should approach every river crossing with fresh eyes and thinking.

Is Everyone in the Group Comfortable?

Make sure everyone has the chance to speak up, not just those with experience. If you or someone in your group is worried, make space for their voice to be heard. You don’t want people to feel they have to conform to avoid making a scene.

Are You Being Influenced by Others?

Just because others have crossed the river ahead of you, doesn’t make it safe for you. Use the evidence available to you, taking into account your skills and experience, and those of everyone in your group.

Your group takes a pause at the river’s edge and discusses the crossing. Everyone gets a turn to talk. One friend admits they feel uncomfortable about the crossing. Another points out that the current looks faster than walking pace, so is too fast to cross safely. You’re aware of the pressure you feel to keep going so you can get home and, as a result, you see the risks for what they are. Together you make the call to wait until the river is safe. You have an emergency shelter and extra food packed exactly for this situation. You send a message to your emergency contact letting them know you’ll be back later than expected. Then, you set up camp and put on the billy for a cuppa and a biscuit.  

Find Out More About River Safety

PHOTO CREDIT | Nathan Watson | Little Wanganui River, Wangapeka, Kahurangi National Park

River Safety