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Lifejackets to be mandatory in Canada/Ontario?


cram

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YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE AGAINST STUPIDITY!!!! If people don't recognize when the danger level reaches a threshold were it would be prudent to wear a pfd making it an uninforceable law won't change that.There are some thing you can legislate for with positive results but this isn't one of em.If you looked closely at the fatalities no doubt impairment/poor judgement factored into most drownings,most are people drunk or going to the bathroom which is done when stopped,you gonna make us wear pfd's while stopped too because of a few careless people?Many things in life have a degree of risk,education allows you to better deal with it than legislation ever will.

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The bleeding heart liberals have for many years according to them helped out a certain minority class of people here in the USA....you know what....I don't think it's working because now we have many many times more of these people that need help so it's not helping IMHO...just like this life jacket law....you should only be responsible for yourself but the liberals want to care for you from the womb to the grave all while taking your freedom and liberty away...I would rather be floating with the fishes than be taken by the hand from people that have no clue what happiness is to me.

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how about mandatory swimming lessons for boaters and cottagers? yes ive seen the add with the 2 kids watching their dad float, and ive read the stats. the thing is, entering the water without a life jacket does not cause instant death. life jackets will not cure excessive speed, collisions, showing off, being drunk off your rocker, etc. while life jackets will increase survivability in the drink the question in all these 'drowning instances' should be how did you end up in the lake? we all have some crazy story about hitting the water but the fact remains many people, including myself, manage to stay dry when boating. its why i have a boat, it seperates me from the wet stuff.

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Guest Johnny Bass

See, they were busy making it illegal to smoke in a car with somebody under 18 present instead.

 

I like the part where an 18yo was busted for smoking with a 16yo present and while the cop was writing the ticket the 16yo lit up and it was perfectly legal.

 

But lets spend a few mil making it law that you have to wear a life jacket when the smarter people already do.

Let the dumb ones die...its better for the human race in the long run. :whistling::thumbsup_anim:

 

 

How exactly does it cost a few million making a law?Let the dumb ones die? That is just a ludicrous statement in itself, not to mention it is not only the individual's life that is effected, but his/her entire family, friends, ect...

 

As far as stupidity not able to be legislated? I totally disagree. Many people that would speed, dont speed because they will be penalized, same thing goes with wearing a seat belt. Lets face it. Seat belts save lives. There is no question about that.

 

Laws like these are obviously not directed at the smart ones but are targeting the stupid ones!

Who says it wouldn't be able to be enforced? After getting fined a few times, you will see how fast people start wearing their life jackets.

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How exactly does it cost a few million making a law?Let the dumb ones die? That is just a ludicrous statement in itself, not to mention it is not only the individual's life that is effected, but his/her entire family, friends, ect...

 

As far as stupidity not able to be legislated? I totally disagree. Many people that would speed, dont speed because they will be penalized, same thing goes with wearing a seat belt. Lets face it. Seat belts save lives. There is no question about that.

 

Laws like these are obviously not directed at the smart ones but are targeting the stupid ones!

Who says it wouldn't be able to be enforced? After getting fined a few times, you will see how fast people start wearing their life jackets.

 

So just how much do you think it costs to make a law.

 

How many people do you see still driving while talking on a cel phone...how many kids without helmets on bikes, how many people smoking with kids in the car. Its just another politician wanting a law named after him.

 

I just believe the money would be better spent on education rather than making laws.

Have a proper boaters course. Educate people in the safety aspect of wearing life jackets.

Those 2 canoeists still wouldn't have had safety gear in the boat no matter haw many laws you make.

I hear so many people complaining that they have to have a flashlight in the boat in the daytime. Well guess what...if you break down, you will likely be out there broke till after dark. Maybe put that in a course instead of just grabbing a hundred bucks off somebody that still doesn't understand why.

Edited by Dara
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How exactly does it cost a few million making a law?Let the dumb ones die? That is just a ludicrous statement in itself, not to mention it is not only the individual's life that is effected, but his/her entire family, friends, ect...

 

As far as stupidity not able to be legislated? I totally disagree. Many people that would speed, dont speed because they will be penalized, same thing goes with wearing a seat belt. Lets face it. Seat belts save lives. There is no question about that.

 

Laws like these are obviously not directed at the smart ones but are targeting the stupid ones!

Who says it wouldn't be able to be enforced? After getting fined a few times, you will see how fast people start wearing their life jackets.

I would venture to bet that there would be far more fatalities on the water as result of a mandatory pfd law.Would you care to guess how many people suffer strokes/heart attacks etc. due to being forced to wear a heat retaining pfd on a hot day?Or would you just make it law that everyone have a auto inflateable @ $175+ ea.?You can be injured or killed while engaging in untold numbers of activities,do you legislate for everything,do you see the futility of this?

Edited by hirk
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Stupid laws are for stupid people. Stupid people spawn more stupid people. I say we let them thin themselves out a little.

 

Sorry if that seems a little harsh, but that's my opinion on the matter.

 

S.

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Stupid laws are for stupid people. Stupid people spawn more stupid people. I say we let them thin themselves out a little.

 

Sorry if that seems a little harsh, but that's my opinion on the matter.

 

S.

 

BINGO ! ! ! :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

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I was using 16' and less as a general example. It goes without saying that smaller watercraft are in more danger during bad conditions and can fall prey more often to idiots driving bigger boats. You wouldn't want a cigarette boat blowing by you on that canoe. The law has to be general, it's too confusing to make it lake and situation specific.

 

Regardless, this is the wrong thread for this conversation. If it is to continue, it should continue on the Life Jacket thread that has been floating around the message boards the last few days (though that thread is referenced in the original post here).

 

Isn't that the point? That to protect the guy on big waters in his canoe (where i'd likely choose to wear a jacket), they're proposing a law that woudl force me on my small lake (with NO cigarette boats, or anything close) to wear a jacket?

 

Why most those of us who use common sense be brought down to the level of the least experienced (or dumbest)?

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I would venture to bet that there would be far more fatalities on the water as result of a mandatory pfd law.Would you care to guess how many people suffer strokes/heart attacks etc. due to being forced to wear a heat retaining pfd on a hot day?Or would you just make it law that everyone have a auto inflateable @ $175+ ea.?You can be injured or killed while engaging in untold numbers of activities,do you legislate for everything,do you see the futility of this?

 

If that's the case, stay home! Why go out in that kind of heat on the open water where the sun glares back at ya and there is no shade. If you have heart problems, lung problems why go on a boat? Common sense would dictate staying home or at least close to home without the worry of overheating in a PFD. :wallbash:

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My two cents:

 

"Common Sense" is an oxymoron.

 

With that said, we need reasonable laws. Mandatory wearing of PDFs for MOVING vessels UNDER 6 meters in length is a reasonable law. (Moving would mean all paddle boats, inflatables, canoes, kayaks etc. These are fragile boats in tough conditions and can be high risk).

 

Naturally, this will be extremely annoying for trolling, but the law needs to be clear and concise. The law needs to be enforceable, and from what I read, this law is easily enforceable. This is a rarity for water-based laws. Boaters can be caught from a mile away and it might aid in keeping them honest with other activities if they think people are looking for life jackets (alcohol, illegal fishing, poaching).

 

As always, this is another case of a smaller group of people ruining it for the whole (those of us who have enough sense to take our own safety into account).

 

The law is fine & with the growing list of tragedies, needed.

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come on here.....too hot, creates a bad tan line....suggesting we let "stupid" people die from their own stupid actions....horrible arguments right there, seriously, that just gives more fuel for the person/group supporting this idea...

 

suggesting we let stupid people die only makes anglers as a whole look irresponsible...

 

tournament anglers wear a pfd while running the lake...a number of big name industry people are already supporting it...same concept as a seatbelt or helmet on a motorcycle...there wasn't this huge discussion on cell phones while driving? you can play with a gps, eat a meal, drink a coffee but you can't talk on a cell phone while driving??.....I'm more pissed about the cell phone law than I would ever be about a mandatory pfd law

 

bottom line is every year there are preventable deaths from people not wearing a PFD, there could be any number of other factors that led up to entering the water...incident beyond your control, booze, drugs, sheer stupidity...but you simply cannot argue that once you are in the water a PFD will greatly improve your odds of survival....I don't know how anybody can argue that fact...

 

the incidents and fatalities are not slowing down, so I think a PFD law is inevitable...instead of arguing it creates a bad tan line anglers should get involved and voice their opinion properly before we get stuck with whatever they pass down on us.

 

If/when a mandatory PFD law comes in effect I think a few classifications would be appropriate:

 

- all small vessels under 16' mandatory pfd all times

- 16-24' mandatory pfd while vessel is engaged in motion and leaving a wake...ie not fishing but actually boating spot to spot, as with tournament anglers

- anything over that pfd's on board, not mandatory to wear

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Isn't that the point? That to protect the guy on big waters in his canoe (where i'd likely choose to wear a jacket), they're proposing a law that woudl force me on my small lake (with NO cigarette boats, or anything close) to wear a jacket?

 

Why most those of us who use common sense be brought down to the level of the least experienced (or dumbest)?

 

Sadly, that's just the way it goes. You see a guy hoping into his canoe with a telephone pole and a winch fishing for browns with a twelve pack and no life jacket and you just think to yourself "this ass is either going to kill himself or make anglers look like idiots." You also want to ask to check his fishing license, but you just don't have the authority and don't want to battle with someone who has likely already been in prison.

 

To play devil's advocate to your small lake argument:

 

People fall out of canoes all the time. They tip. If you're fighting a big pike or get caught in a snag, you could lose your balance and fall out. You could fall out if you hit an obstruction in the water. ANYTIME someone falls out of a moving water vessel their life could be in danger. That is not disputable.

 

There are countless things that could unexpectedly happen. You could fall victim to tree branches falling - things of that nature. You can say these aren't likely to happen, but it truly can happen in a split second. I don't even think you can make an argument against this, you can only argue that it encroaches on your freedom (and then you start to sound a little like Ben Roethlisberger - before he smashed his motorbike up without a helmet for the second time).

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come on here.....too hot, creates a bad tan line....suggesting we let "stupid" people die from their own stupid actions....horrible arguments right there, seriously, that just gives more fuel for the person/group supporting this idea...

 

suggesting we let stupid people die only makes anglers as a whole look irresponsible...

 

tournament anglers wear a pfd while running the lake...a number of big name industry people are already supporting it...same concept as a seatbelt or helmet on a motorcycle...there wasn't this huge discussion on cell phones while driving? you can play with a gps, eat a meal, drink a coffee but you can't talk on a cell phone while driving??.....I'm more pissed about the cell phone law than I would ever be about a mandatory pfd law

 

bottom line is every year there are preventable deaths from people not wearing a PFD, there could be any number of other factors that led up to entering the water...incident beyond your control, booze, drugs, sheer stupidity...but you simply cannot argue that once you are in the water a PFD will greatly improve your odds of survival....I don't know how anybody can argue that fact...

 

the incidents and fatalities are not slowing down, so I think a PFD law is inevitable...instead of arguing it creates a bad tan line anglers should get involved and voice their opinion properly before we get stuck with whatever they pass down on us.

 

If/when a mandatory PFD law comes in effect I think a few classifications would be appropriate:

 

- all small vessels under 16' mandatory pfd all times

- 16-24' mandatory pfd while vessel is engaged in motion and leaving a wake...ie not fishing but actually boating spot to spot, as with tournament anglers

- anything over that pfd's on board, not mandatory to wear

 

Amen

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Most of the danger is caused by boat wakes. The faster the boat the worse the wake. I think there should first be a speed limit on the water.

 

Lets say 25 mph.

There is no need of these ciggarette boats or bass boats running around public waters at 85 mph. Thats just rediculous.

Bass boats racing for the best spot to fish? Come on...if they had a 5 mph speed limit in the tournaments then it would be a level playing field, cost of gear would be way cheaper, and it would be about the fishing again instead of which guy has the biggest.........

 

We don't need personal watercraft running around at 60 mph either. They just run into other people...outlaw them first.

 

Wakeboats?...come on

 

Why do I have to be put into danger every time I go on the water just so all the fools that want to go fast can play.

It has nothing to do with mandatory wearing of a lifejacket.

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what's asinine is suggesting we let stupid people die from their alleged stupidity....the mod's should clean that crap up....

 

there is only so much you can do to save them

 

how bout we makes laws for different people based on IQ

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