what if

When I hear about a paragliding accident, I try to understand what went wrong in order to avoid a similar fate. Every accident has a human factor. It's tempting to think that by studying accidents we can protect ourselves from others' mistakes.
Unfortunately, over the years I've seen much better pilots than me have accidents. I have had my own share of close calls too. I've concluded that the root causes of most accidents--human error and turbulence--are at some fundamental level random and inescapable.
If we can't eliminate the risks, how can we reduce them to a tolerable level? How can we justify participating in a sport in which we know that someday, something will go wrong? I'm not sure I have an answer. The best suggestion I can make is to always fly with a backup option. Always have an answer to the question, "What would I do if...?" This is the only approach I can think of to avoid a dead-end scenario.