"Gould 0738" wrote in message
news:20040701201925.10996.00001027@mb-
Coast Guard statistics show that 750 boaters died in 2002. Eighty-five
percent
of those who drowned were not wearing PFDs

Which means what exactly? *Most* people don't wear life jackets. So it's
probably accurate to say that most people who get into any accident will not
be wearing a life jacket when they get into that accident. Why doesn't the
Coast Guard thus claim that life jackets prevent accidents? Because it
would be an absurd conclusion! Just as it's absurd to assume that those 85%
died *because* they weren't wearing their life jackets.

The only statistic that would be meaningful would be one that looks at the
fatality/non-fatality ratio of boaters who *were* wearing their life-jackets
at the time of death. Then we'd know if a mandatory PFD law will save any
lives.