Should the govt require adults to wear life jackets?

For you BoatUS members perhaps you've received an email asking your opinion on a requirement for the Coast Guard to issue a rule requiring adults over 18 to wear life jackets while under way.
This survey does not state in any way that the CG or govt is considering such a rule, it just ask members opinion.


IMHO BoatUS would not conduct such a survey if this issue has not been considered somewhere within our govt.


So what's your opinion.

This issue has been kicked around now for over a decade so it is nothing new. Not sure why BoatsRUS brought it up again, but there has not been any rumblings about this for a long time. The Coast Guards last determination was that every boater on the planet was against it, which is why they dropped it. Chuck

Maybe the current administration is taking a different approach.

OR, more fitting, the current administration will write and pass the bill regardless of what the rest of the world wants....

"OR, more fitting , the current administration will write and pass the bill regardless of what the rest of the world wants...."

And pass a tax increase, labeled as a user fee, to run a multi gazillion dollar ad campaign, print 40 fliers for ever man, woman, and child on earth..... that we the " rich" middle class that owns most of the boats will have to pay for!!

hollywood8118 wrote:

"OR, more fitting , the current administration will write and pass the bill regardless of what the rest of the world wants...."

And pass a tax increase, labeled as a user fee, to run a multi gazillion dollar ad campaign, print 40 fliers for ever man, woman, and child on earth..... that we the " rich" middle class that owns most of the boats will have to pay for!!

Click to expand...

Nicely put.

*

It's a classic choice between the individual's right to run their own lives as they see fit, and the creation of a law to protect ourselves from our stupidity. I guess the answer might depend on how much each of us values other people's lives.

You could make the case that a fair amount of money is spent each year as a result of adults getting into trouble by not wearing a life jacket. Sometimes the money is spent on a search for the body, sometimes it's spent on a greater degree of emergency and critical care because even though the person survived their condition was critical as a result of not wearing a life jacket. So making them mandatory could be spun as a cost savings.

And then, of course, there is the insurance industry, lovely folks that they are. Any law that can reduce the risk to them and thus improve their profit is always seen as a Good Thing. So I'm sure they'd all be for a mandatory life jacket law. Can't blame them really--- insurance is a for-profit industry, not a charity, something more and more people seem to forget.

Personally, I'm a big fan of Chuck Darwin. I feel if a person wants to do something, however dumb, with potential consequences that have no affect on me, then they should be allowed to do it. But I suspect that these days the insurance companies and the "professional victim" and "feel good" crowds far outnumber people who think as I do. God forbid anyone is forced to live their lives using common sense, self-reliance, and personal responsibility.

I suspect that mandatory life jacket wearing will become law sooner rather than later.

I find that statement rather puzzling Marin. This is a country yet to even have uniform compulsory seat-belt laws, when they have been compulsory in most other OECD countries anyway, for decades? How would they possibly get mandatory life-jacket wearing through? We don't have that even in Australia, except for children under 12, I think, and everybody crossing bars are supposed to wear them for the crossing at least.

Because the US is gradually going the European route (which makes sense when you think about it since we are basically a "second generation" European country) which is to protect everyone from everything. So I believe it's just a matter of time. It's the sort of law Congress absolutely loves to create.

timjet,

I received the email you're talking about from Boat US, and personally, being a "less government" person, I opted for no mandatory laws for adults. *I believe that people have the right to be stupid and not be, "... forced to live their lives using common sense, self-reliance, and personal responsibility" as stated by Marin.


Having said that, I also believe that minors need to be protected as some adults have no common sense when it comes to protecting the small ones. But once a person is an adult, the government intervention should cease. *Just my opinion.


As to Peter's comment on the US not having uniform compulsory seat-belt laws, you're correct. *Some seat-belt laws are left up to the individual states, but I'm unaware of any state that doesn't have some form of seat-belt law today. *I could be wrong, but I've never heard of one.


Mike
Brookings, Oregon


-- Edited by coyote454 on Tuesday 6th of April 2010 10:18:26 AM

coyote454 wrote:


*I believe that people have the right to be stupid and not be, "... forced to live their lives using common sense, self-reliance, and personal responsibility" as stated by Marin

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Actually that was an attempt at sarcasm.* I believe people should be "forced" to live their lives using common sense, self-reliance, and personal responsibility by virtue of government leaving them the hell alone.* If they sink, they sink. If they swim, they swim.*

It's the majority of people in power in the government--- and increasingly in the country as a whole--- who are determined to prevent people from being "forced" to live that way and instead feel that every aspect of our lives should be governed and controlled*so that common sense, self-reliance, and personal responsibility are no longer needed for survival.* Which is probably a good thing to do since, like the AKC people who "bred the brains out of collies", these attributes are rapidly being bred out of America's general population.

I believe Marins observation is correct. We really are becoming more European. They have a law for everything and a tax to back it up. General aviation has just about disappeared in most of Europe and the politicians will probably attack boating soon.*

Whether you think the European model is right or not, consider this; when was the last time you bought something made in Europe. The Europeans have become*uncompetitive*globally due to their welfare system. We are not far behind. What will the Europeans do when they wake up one day and realize we can't protect them? They've been free loaders on defense since WW2.


Just a sec, I gotta go put on my life jacket, I might fall into the bath tub.

The seatbelt laws were "forced" on the states in the same way the 21 year old drinking age. They did leave it up to the states to make their own decision.....but federal monies would be restricted to those that did not change the age or pass a seatbelt law.....just FYI.

Marin,

Actually, I noted the sarcasm you used in the statement about people being 'forced' to use common sense. *I agree. *I just liked your quote and*plagiarized*it in my post.


Mike
Brookings, Oregon