As this tragic event has brought a lot of attention to safety aspects, may be it is the time to take the whole safety issue further than discussing it.
One idea that went through my mind (and I see this as a brainstorming thread, so please make other suggestions if you don't like the idea or have a better one) is that we could may be create a fund that could either test and accredit safety equipment (also good for developers, because then for once, kiters could rely on the system working) or may be award a prize for the best safety developments made or similar.
What do you think?
Please comment

good idea!
I guess it could be managed by the associations.

It is a good idea. Implementation may be difficult however. We could do a "consumer products" type approach that would be costly and take some time to put together. Another quicker and less costly approach would be to have a test panel of riders in various areas that would agree to test gear in a standard way. A piece of gear could be selected by the group or submitted by a manufacturer for evaluation. A detailed test series approach or evaluation profile would be prepared and submitted to the riders along with a standard evaluation/scoring sheet. Some variation in the test method would be unavoidable but it is better than what we have today. This could be run through the AKA Kiteboarding Committee perhaps along with the Kite Trade Association or other group in the World.

Rick Iossi

Testing by riders sounds good, but I am unsure that they are able to judge safety in all aspects.
For example, when testing parachute equipment, it is not only parachutists who test the equipment?! May be institutions such as surf magazines, who have done all sorts of testing over the years will be able to help with finding qualified testers besides riders?