When you are camping, there all always things that need to be strapped up, on or down.  There are so many great options that are safe and useful… one you never should use is a bungee cord.

Bungee cords are both, not secure, and dangerous… very dangerous.

Bungee cords are common workplace and household items that have many uses. Despite their usefulness, they are a significant cause of severe eye injury.

In 2000, Dr. Anthony Aldave, a California Ophthalmologist, co-conducted a retrospective study which showed that 20 percent of people treated for bungee-cord eye injuries at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia over five years experienced profound vision loss.

“Most of the injuries occurred when one of the bungee cord hooks was released from the object it was secured to, rather than cord or hook failure,” the study said.

Victoria eye surgeon Lawrence Brierley felt “heartsick” when the emergency call came: another bungee-cord accident.

Twice Brierley has had to remove eyeballs because of bungee cord incidents. The accidents tend to affect people who seem thoughtful rather than risk-taking, says Brierley. “If people understand how dangerous they are, maybe they’ll be a little more circumspect in their use.”

Because these elastic cords can recoil at 90 kilometres an hour, the hooks attached to them can destroy any eye in their path when they give way without warning.

When Chilliwack Giants football player Dave Bosch was helping his father secure equipment on a truck in 2004, a bungee cord snapped off suddenly. “There was no eye left,” he later said.

I was chatting with camping buddy Ron last month about the dangers of bungee cords… and Ron related a story about a good friend who recently lost his eye from a bungee cord. This is very close to home.

I must also relate a story of another friend – a smart person I must point out – who attached a canoe to the top of his car with bungee cords… the canoe didn’t hold!

Bungee cords are easy to use, so they can appear like a good option for the unaware… yet they don’t hold securely and they are very dangerous.  If you have any bungee cords in your garage,  throw them out so you won’t be tempted.

Friends don’t let friends use bungees!