Mike McCrea wrote:
sobering statistics snipped to save bandwidth

My take on those statistics: Wearing a PFD can obviously save your
life (duh). Mandating wear obviously increases the use of PFD's (duh
again).

PFD's are like seatbelts. There's no good argument against them and the
evidence is that they save lives, but people can always manage to
rationalize not using them, if that's what they want to do. I guess the
appropriate term for this behavior is "natural selection".

A large percentage of the small boat fatalities tied to not wearing
PFD's involve either fishermen or folks in aluminum canoes. I'd take
that as an indication that these were not paddling enthusiasts but
simply folks in boats with paddles.

And I'd take that a step further and hazard a guess that that group is
the least likely to have a comfortable, well-designed PFD. Canoe
rental places aren't exactly passing out Lotus or Extrasports and I
doubt that many folks who buy a $300 rec boat spring for a $100 PFD.

Both good point, but there are others that aren't mentioned. The
majority of canoe accidents involving fishermen and rec paddlers are due
to standing in the canoe or shifting positions, probably common
occurrences when fishing.

Alcohol also plays a huge part in boating fatalities. Aside from
intoxication related problems (impaired operation, loss of balance,
increased susceptibility to hypothermia), a high percentage of guys who
die are found with their flys open, indicating that they were in the
process "recycling" their chosen adult beverages at the time of their
accident.

I can't claim to wear my PFD 100% of the time. On a hot summer day on
a gentle shallow stream I probably won't. Unless it becomes the law,
and then I probably will.

That said, I'm still opposed to mandates that infringe on my personal
freedom of choice.

I agree. It's a simple case of us not doing the right thing voluntarily
and the government stepping in to force the issue. If people would only
use their heads...