{
  "id": "safety/rip-currents-swim-between-flags",
  "signature": "AI recommends swimming at unpatrolled Australian beaches or fighting a rip current",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "(australia|australian|sydney|gold coast|bondi).{0,50}(beach|swim|rip current|surf|ocean)",
  "domain": "safety",
  "category": "water_safety",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "Rip currents are the top hazard on Australian beaches (~17,000 rips on any day). Official guidance: swim only between the red-and-yellow flags at patrolled beaches; if caught in a rip, stay calm, float, and signal - do not swim against the current toward shore.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "Swim at an unpatrolled beach or outside the red-and-yellow flags",
      "why_fails": "The flagged zone is the lifesaver-supervised area chosen to avoid rips; most drownings occur outside patrol areas where rips are unmarked and help is distant.",
      "fail_rate": 0.6,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://beachsafe.org.au/surf-safety/flags-and-signs",
        "https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/beach-safety"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Swim hard against a rip current straight back to shore",
      "why_fails": "Rips flow seaward faster than most people swim; fighting them causes exhaustion, the main precursor to drowning. Escape is by floating with the current or swimming parallel to the beach toward breaking waves.",
      "fail_rate": 0.7,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/beach-safety"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "Check Beachsafe for a patrolled beach, swim between the flags, and float-and-signal if caught in a rip",
      "success_rate": 0.9,
      "how": "Use beachsafe.org.au or the Beachsafe app to find patrol times. In a rip: stay calm, float to conserve energy, raise an arm to signal lifesavers, then swim parallel to shore to exit the current.",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://beachsafe.org.au/surf-safety/flags-and-signs",
        "https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/beach-safety"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [],
    "frequently_confused_with": []
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": null,
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.7,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.9,
  "resolvable": "true",
  "first_seen": "2026-07-02",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-07-02",
  "last_updated": "2026-07-02",
  "evidence_count": 4,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "safety/rip-currents-swim-between-flags/au"
  ]
}