It has never been easy living in as free of a society as we had here. With freedom come personal responsibilities to understand what being free is all about. When we ask for additional security we in turn have to give up some freedom.
I did some motorcycle riding in my younger days and the type of riding I did it was customary to wear a helmet and I always did just because it was the way it was. As a kid growing up in the 60’s there was no such thing as a bike helmet just like there was no child seats in cars or seat belts or air bags and it was ok to ride in the back of a pickup truck. Most of us managed to live thru it. when we built a raft to paddle a mile out in Lake Erie of course we took a PFD mine was a 15” truck inner tube.
As I got older and wiser I had a friend at work that drove a Harley and I noticed he didn’t wear a helmet and asked him if he had a death wish. He had some compelling facts about helmets and told me they keep the head looking good for the funeral. His argument was and he had some facts to back it up were beyond hearing and vision impairment with helmets was the weight of it in many cases became a strong contributor to breaking the neck. It gave me something to think about and the bottom line IMO became it is really not a real safe thing to ride with or without a helmet and then it became should we as a people just ban motorcycles totally rather than worry about is a helmet safe or not. That lead to where do we stop. Jet ski, water ski, football, etc.
My bottom line is he enjoys his Harley and it is his life not mine and he is free to figure it out.
I believe it is smart to wear a PFD and in a lot of situations it isn’t even being smart enough like the people I will see out paddling in the weeks ahead in water around 40f. If we need a law for PFD then we likely need a bunch of more laws for what else to wear etc.
It is hard to beat education and one of the hardest things it seems to accomplish with paddling.
I couldn’t give a flying flapdoodle whether a biker wears a helmet or a paddler wears a pfd, BUT I don’t want to catch the bill for the stupidity (aka personal “freedom”) that a minority of dumasses adds to everyone else’s insurance premiums. Until the insurance companies figure out that there’s a good business case to make excess risk-takers pay their fair share, the rest of us will continue to subsidize the knuckle draggers.
@PaddleDog52, very astute! When a guy I befriended started working at the same job, I told him don’t sweat the small stuff, in a 100 years, none of this# will matter. When I retired, I told him none of this will matter in 50 years! He asked why not 100? Were older! Last month I updated the prediction, in 15 years . . . He just laughed.
@bud16415, you are so correct. We have one life, live it wisely. I guess technically if you’ve passed on your genetic code, you’re job is done . . . if you haven’t, whoop. Darwin!
The more I look at this regulation, the more unclear it is. The press release talks about required PFD use with “paddle craft”, but the regulation refers to “all vessels”, which would also include motor boats. Maybe that is why the requirement is less stringent for boats over 16-feet. Regardless, I can’t see motor boaters in boats of any size putting on PFDs, and that doesn’t seem to be the intention based on the press release.
The state press release included a link to this webpage with boating accident information by state.
Interesting information, but the number of boating accidents/fatalities is peanuts compared to compared to car accidents/fatalities. It is tough to find current data, but it looks like there are about 15,000 car accidents and 100 car fatalities every day in the US.
So wear your seat belt and your PFD. You are much more likely to die driving to and from your trip.
It could be written better but I think it works.
-All vessels must have pfd’s.
-If it’s a paddle craft, etc. and it’s less than 16’ you have to wear it.
-All vessels 16’+ must also have a throwable. The oddity here is that paddle craft, etc 16’+ are not required to wear a pfd. And I wonder if that is intentional.
-Paddle craft 16’+ are not required to have a throwable.
It would have been clearer if they put the paddle boat requirement in its own subsection rather than, I’m guessing, shoehorning it existing language.
We all have individual rights and freedom to live our lives and you seem to not object to people assuming the risk of their lifestyles.
It is then the overlap of the collective paying when their choices turn out bad for the knuckle draggers. I can actually agree with that except where do we draw the line. If a kid comes into the ER with a head injury from not wearing a bike helmet should we tell the parents we don’t work on him. If a paddle boater goes in the water should the local rescue team leave him if no PFD is being worn. Then there are a million other risky lifestyles that are not necessary for daily life people do them for fun. How about skate boarding or WW rafting or kayaking even with a PFD they to me seem to have excess risk and why should the person that just sits home and watches TV have to pay when they go bad. Rock climbing is popular now as is hiking and when someone even sprains a leg it costs thousands to get someone to them and life flight them out. Fast food is killing people and some states want to limit the size cold drink you can buy.
Should a risky job be viewed different than a risky hobby as if you get hurt on the job it is assumed you are doing something for the collective. But then again the risky job may pay more in order to get someone to do it. Equity is different than equality.
40 year ago Evel Knievel was a popular figure and people paid to watch him. Today we would lock him up for excessive risk even though he wore a helmet.
For several years NH has had a raging debate on the cost of rescue issue. With fines for “stupid” or negligent activities.
NH officials may start levying criminal charges after risky hiker rescues
“It’s a little wake-up call,” one New Hampshire Fish and Game Department official said.
New Hampshire lawallows the Fish and Game Department to bill people who are negligent for the cost of their rescue. The department also sells Hike Safe Cards for $25 (or $35 per family), and cardholders are not liable for rescue costs except under certain criteria.
The big change is that people in paddlecraft under 16’ must now wear an approved PFD, not just carry it. The USCG and most states have long required all vessels to at least have an approved wearable PFD readily available for each person. There have been exceptions for paddlecraft in competitive events and when in a swim or surf zone. State laws may vary, but most follow the USCG rules in both coastal and inland waters.
If you read the full statute, all paddlecraft are exempted from the throwable PDF requirements. This is not the case in Canada. A throwable PFD is not the same as a wearable PFD and is usually classified as a Type IV. It is meant to be thrown and grabbed, not worn. It must have at least 16.5 lbs. buoyancy.
Good questions. My comment, admittedly, is more of a philosophy than a solution.
Re: kids - as a society, we generally don’t hold them accountable for risky behavior. I’m OK with that … maybe because I (and, I suspect, a few other geezers on this forum) have been there.
Adults, on the other hand, should be accountable if they engage in behaviors known to be high risk. That doesn’t mean the gov’t should outlaw such behaviors, it just means that when things go badly for the adrenaline junkies, they should bear most of the cost. Where to draw the line? I don’t know, but I suspect the actuaries have better answers than the politicians.
Good question, where do we draw the line? If we’re talking a pure financial cost to society as a whole, the obesity you alluded to is much more costly (estimates about 150 million a year) than the costs associated with “risky” hobbies. Personally, I think we should err on the side of personal freedom rather than being safe and “cheap”.
