Seat belts, motorcycle helmets... now PFDs?

[Tom S]

Vincent - I only take the cheap "orange" pfd's

in my dinghy. Very few people are enticed to steal them if I leave them in my dinghy when I go ashore.

 

[Sue B]

Mandatory PFD too many laws

While wearing a PDF is a good idea making it mandatory is not. We have too many laws. Common sense should be mandatory.

 

[steve]

ANDY OF THE WORLD

I POSITIVELY DID NOT MISS THE POINT OF THE ARTICLE. THE FACT THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS CONSIDERING MANDATING SIMPLY SHOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE NEED TO BE HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A STORY LIKE MINE. BY THE WAY YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY WEAR A PFD IN THE CABIN. THE LAST THING YOU NEED TO BE DOING DURING AN EMERGENCY IS TO BE LOOKING FOR YOUR PFD REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE TOPSIDE AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE IN THE CABIN.

 

[Vincent]

Settle Down Steve

I think Andy is right. Anytime the government involves itself with legislating safety, it ends up being a method to make money, not safety. No matter how many laws are passed, PFDes will NOT be worn by some, and will be worn by others. As stated in some of the other comments, sometimes they are more dangerous than going into the drink without them, for example, when wind surfing. Instead of spending money on enforcement, the govenment should put more money into EDUCATION, so hard heads will perhaps see the advantage. The last thing the small boat community needs is more regulations!

 

[Dale]

A Good time can turn Bad

Government mandates are a pain. They feeble attempts to protect the mentally challenged individuals who tempt fate at every turn. I try hard not to fall into that category; therefore, I wear a pdf whenever I go topside. I have had several misshaps but never hit the drink. Mysteriously, a shroud or lifeline appears just close enough to grab. that may not always be the case. Why make a good time end up bad?

 

[Tom S]

Steve You want us to wear a PFD in the cabin ?!?

*pop -- You've gotta be nuts !?!So should we mandate that everyone swiming should wear a pfd. DO NOT MANDATE YOUR BEING UNCOMFORTABLE WITH NOT WEARING A PFD ON ME !!!Sorry for your loss -- but here is message for you. People die, sometimes before the time when people think they should. Nobody lives for ever and when your time is up...its up. Putting everyone in a plastic protective bubble won't change that. But it WILL sap the life out of the living.We don't need a "HIT IN THE HEAD" with your story. All we need to do is open the paper and read. There are thousands of stories a day where people die in untimely deaths.But I'll tell you this, I'd rather die while sailing than a lot of other things. Its my choice, just as its yours to wear yours.Life is full of risks - If I am not harming anyone else then stay the hell out of my business !!!!!!!!!Like I have said before the only people that should care whether I wear a pfd or not is my family or my insurance company.This is why this country is heading downward. Its takes all the personal responsibilty for ANYTHING out of the individuals hands.

 

[mw]

IQ tests-I like that Idea

I like Steve's idea about the IQ tests, the only change that I would make is to administer an IQ test to anyone who wants a government job. OH NO wait-that might create a down-turn economic spiral, most current government employees would no doubt flunk an IQ test and loose their job. I think the current government requirement is to hire people with a GED at best, Educated people need not apply! Who has ever attempted to deal with those folks-no doubt knows what I mean. Even our founding fathers would crawl back into their graves shaking their heads if they realized what our democratic government is doing these days.

 

[GARRY @ S/V TASHTEGO]

Soft PFDs

I don't suppose these regulations will make much of a difference. The most useful thing that could be done is to make soft PFDs filled with chips or beads of flotation foam rather than the rigid blocks they use now. The old kapok filled life preservers were at least comfortable (although they didn't float for long) and wearing them was much less uncomfortable than the modern equivalent. Maybe people would wear them more if they were less uncomfortable.

 

[Jack]

If it's important, protect it!

Just think of the things these items protect:Seat BeltPFDMotorcycle HelmetAthletic CupYour choice... if it is important to you, protect it!Jack

 

[mw]

You got It! Jack

As you said: "Your Choice"Democracy is ALL about choices!! and not about being protected from yourself by Big Brother.

 

[Ed]

Unlike my car's seatbelts, ...

I had to get PFD's for my boat. It's one thing to mandate the use of provided safety gear. It's quite another to mandate their use if they're not provided.Can a soccer player play without shin-guards? Can a catcher play without a chest-protector, shin-guards and a cup? Yes, but they'd be fools to do so. Can children play in the yard (or the sidewalk) without wearing shoes? Perhaps they shouldn't, but I've seen many playing shoeless, even with their parents watching. Should we impose a "must wear shoes" law? When does it end? :^(Based on the protective laws enacted in the last 30 years, I have to wonder how I managed to survive to middle age! I rode my roller skates and bike for decades without a helmet. I lived in a multi-story house that didn't have gates at the top or bottom of the staircase. My clothes weren't flame retardant. My parent's car (a 1949 Pontiac) had no seatbelts or head restraints or airbags, the steering column was not designed to collapse upon impact, and all the interior surfaces were metal with no pading except the seats (and BTW, the speed limits on some interstates was 75 MPH or more). I guess it's a miracle folks of my generation or older managed to survive at all. Maybe it's because we had good luck or maybe it's due to our COMMON SENSE.The Constitution does not guarantee us 'common sense' or 'good judgement'. If you feel it appropriate to wear a PFD - go for it. However, let other adults make their own decisions, even if they are bad decisions that may cause them (but no one else) harm. In other words, "Live and let live."~ Happy sails to you ~ _/) ~

 

[Don Guggenheim]

Don't boat won't drown

People must be responsible for their actions. If their actions would cause damage to others, then enforcement should be used. If I choose not to wear a PDF, it should be my choice, as I will pay the price. Informing the public of the dangers is good, forcing me to wear a PDF is silly.

 

[Lefty]

A couple of questions.

Just of couple of quick thoughts / questions.Why is everyone blaming liberals for this proposal? Last time I checked the U.S. Coast Guard was part of the US Military (OK Homeland Security) an organization not exactly known for its left wing (or even centrist) views.Why is it that the right wing is so opposed to government regulations and a staunch support of individual freedoms, and yet so opposed to the same freedoms for groups it disagrees with on moral / religious grounds (Such as Gays and abortion)For what its worth I agree with seatbelt and helmet laws due to the cost to society and likelihood of having an accident where these devices can save lives, however I'm not sure about boats over 21'. Under 21': let's see the statistics. Cost benefit analysis doesn't fit, try likelihood of ending up in the water vs. likelihood of dieing if you do)

 

[Marvin]

What decisions can we make for ourselves???

In rough weather my wife and I wear PFDs. That is OUR decision. However, I dare say I would give up sailing on the Chesapeake altogether if I had to continually look out for the marine patrol trying to enforce a mandatory PFD policy in light winds/calm seas. I've been a competent swimmer my whole life and I make wise decisions regarding safety. DO NOT LIMIT MY RIGHTS OR LIBERTIES ON ACCOUNT OF THE STUPIDITY, INABILITY, OR MISFORTUNE OF OTHERS. As I grew-up in Coast Guard City USA I am all too aware of the costs to the Coast Guard who risk their lives to save others who may have made mistakes of judgment. Nevertheless, it is their job.Our lands are rampant with over regulation as it is, the open water is our last arena of true freedom.

 

[Chris Cornwell]

lifejackets

Not a big fan of mandatory lifejackets. In easy to moderate conditions I prefer a harness, lifeline, and jacklines.

 

[Steve Smith]

Has anybody read the results

of the quick quiz on the wearing of PFDs. The majority (62%) voted that wearing PFDs should be at the discretion of the captain. A small minority (8%) voted that wearing PFDs should be mandatory on all recreational boats. I happen to agree with the majority. I own a 34’ Pearson sloop on Lake Ontario and a 19’ deck boat on a little lake in up-state NY. Whether I’m sailing my boat on a beautiful cloudless day with a 5 – 10mph wind, or, putting around the lake on my deck boat under the same conditions, I don’t think the small minority, or the Coast Guard, or some law maker should tell me I will be ticketed and fined for not wearing a PFD on these occasions. By the way mw of Buzzards Bay, I’m a government employee; I hold a Masters of Science degree From S.U. and work in an Air Force R & D lab. With the exception of some in management, most government employees are quite intelligent and “Educated”. I believe you meant your cynicism towards the law makers and the few control freaks that want to control every aspect of our lives.What I want to know is; what can I do to prevent this law from being passed. There’s an old saying: it’s easier to pass a law, than it is to remove a law that’s been passed (or something like that). So what do the 90% of us boat owning Americans do to keep this law from passing. We don’t have lobbyists like the NRA. Do we write our congressmen? Is there some sort of form letter? If we do nothing there is one certainty, like seatbelts and helmets, we will have to wear PFDs or break the law!

 

[J.P.Jones]

Lefty, this is not an argument of left vs. right

Even though a few threw some comments in. This has much more to do with freedoms that go with being an American which are universal for all people, from the far right to the far left.One other thing you should do before making a statement is research the facts. Its been pointed out already in a few previous posts, but the fatality rate for some states that imposed a helmet law actually went up.ps. Statistics are there, but you just have to have enough fortitude to look it up yourself and not be "spoon fed" whatever spin or propaganda either side wants to you hear. People are sheep, its time they start learning the facts and think for themselves.So I will end by asking you to point out to me anywhere in the constitution or any other document produced by our founding fathers (e.g. bill of rights, ammendments, etc) that its the governments job to protect us from ourselves."Live Free or Die"

 

[Neil Franklin]

Mandatory wearing of PFD's

I think mandatory wearing of PFD's should be required on boats without lifelines,low freeboards, boats with booms so low that you have to duck when coming about or jibing, and boats subject to easy capsizing.

 

[Robert S. Morse]

Trying to cure a symptom

Like motorcycle hemets, seatbelts and other government mandated "safety devices", the effort is still to cure a symptom. If folks would learn to drive their motorcycles, cars and boats in a safe and sane manner, a vast majority of these "loss of life incidents" would go away. Instead of making people actually LEARN how to operate their equiment, the government mandates safety gear that, I suspect, gives the very people who need the training to begin with, even more of a danger to the rest of us.There are, of course, situations/ conditions that warrant safety gear. As responsible adults, we should know what those are and act accordingly. If one fails to do so, don't come crying to the government (taxpayers) to make one whole.On a lesser note, the government can hardly enforce the existing laws. Why spend the time and money to create another that can't be enforced?Standing back ready for the flame throwers, :>)Bob

 

[Andy]

Fatherless Steve - look at it this way

I'm really sorry you lost your father - obviously it affected you deeply. At the risk of being shouted at again by you, I still stand by my statement that you are missing the point. But let's get over that; I want you to try to open your mind a little to my argument, so I present this. By your own words, you said your father died because he fell off the transom when the operator gunned the boat (statistically that is probably the leading cause of death in boating). Was he standing or sitting on the transom? If so, then that would have been a contributing (or causal) factor. New law - no standing or sitting on the boat, ever (your logic - no personal judgment involved). Had he been drinking? (don't get offended, just a question to gather the facts). If so, that may have been causal and then we should completely outlaw the consumption of alcohol on boats (again, your logic - no personal judgment involved). Could he have hit his head or been struck by the prop? If so, then a PFD may not have even made a difference and your whole argument crumbles! I am not minimizing your pain or making light of what happened in any way. You brought this up and tried to use it to justify mandating everyone wear PFDs on every boat all the time (even while sleeping in a cabin - shake of my head in disbelief). Your logic just doesn’t stand up to the test.