Heads up.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be holding a public forum to
discuss
the merits of requiring all boaters to wear (not just carry) PFD.

**************************
Washington, D. C. -The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public
forum to discuss mandatory wear of personal flotation devices (PFD) on
recreational boats, NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners has announced. The
one-day forum will begin at 9:00 am on August 25, 2004 at the NTSB Academy in
Ashburn, VA.

The purpose of the forum is to gather all available data, and to promote an
open and informative discussion of policy issues related to mandatory PFD use.
The Safety Board has a long history of working to improve recreational boating
safety. It has been on the Board's "Most Wanted" list of transportation safety
improvements since its inception in 1990.

"The Board has made a solid commitment to advance recreational boating safety
by all means available to our agency," said Chairman Engleman Conners. "A
public forum will be an excellent mechanism to bring together agencies and
organizations to identify solutions that will improve public safety in
recreational boating."

Coast Guard statistics show that 750 boaters died in 2002. Eighty-five percent
of those who drowned were not wearing PFDs, even though in many cases, PFDs
were aboard. These statistics have been consistent from year to year and Coast
Guard statistics show that approximately 450 lives could be saved each year if
the victims wore PFDs. The Safety Board wants to build on this information and
other data available to evaluate the safety benefits of mandatory wearing of
PFDs on recreational boating.

Currently, most States require PFD wear for children and for personal
watercraft operators. No State requires PFD wear for all occupants. Yet six
years of observational studies by the Coast Guard show that less than 5% of
adults in open boats wear PFDs.

Some of the issues discussed at the forum will be:

The impact of federal and/or state legislation mandating wearing of PFDs on
recreational boats
Various vessels and type of operation that should be included in or exempted
from mandatory wear rules
New PFD technology
Alternatives to mandatory wear rules

Registration details for the forum and directions to the Academy may be found
on the Board's website at www.ntsb.gov.

NTSB Media Contact: Keith Holloway, (202) 314-6100

http://www.ntsb.gov/academy/CourseInfo/MS701_200408.htm

That will really go over well on cruise ships.

"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
Heads up.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be holding a public forum to
discuss
the merits of requiring all boaters to wear (not just carry) PFD.

**************************
Washington, D. C. -The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a
public
forum to discuss mandatory wear of personal flotation devices (PFD) on
recreational boats, NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners has announced.
The
one-day forum will begin at 9:00 am on August 25, 2004 at the NTSB Academy
in
Ashburn, VA.

The purpose of the forum is to gather all available data, and to promote
an
open and informative discussion of policy issues related to mandatory PFD
use.
The Safety Board has a long history of working to improve recreational
boating
safety. It has been on the Board's "Most Wanted" list of transportation
safety
improvements since its inception in 1990.

"The Board has made a solid commitment to advance recreational boating
safety
by all means available to our agency," said Chairman Engleman Conners. "A
public forum will be an excellent mechanism to bring together agencies and
organizations to identify solutions that will improve public safety in
recreational boating."

Coast Guard statistics show that 750 boaters died in 2002. Eighty-five
percent
of those who drowned were not wearing PFDs, even though in many cases,
PFDs
were aboard. These statistics have been consistent from year to year and
Coast
Guard statistics show that approximately 450 lives could be saved each
year if
the victims wore PFDs. The Safety Board wants to build on this information
and
other data available to evaluate the safety benefits of mandatory wearing
of
PFDs on recreational boating.

Currently, most States require PFD wear for children and for personal
watercraft operators. No State requires PFD wear for all occupants. Yet
six
years of observational studies by the Coast Guard show that less than 5%
of
adults in open boats wear PFDs.

Some of the issues discussed at the forum will be:

The impact of federal and/or state legislation mandating wearing of PFDs
on
recreational boats
Various vessels and type of operation that should be included in or
exempted
from mandatory wear rules
New PFD technology
Alternatives to mandatory wear rules

Registration details for the forum and directions to the Academy may be
found
on the Board's website at www.ntsb.gov.

NTSB Media Contact: Keith Holloway, (202) 314-6100

"Calif Bill" wrote in message link.net...
That will really go over well on cruise ships.

Oh, you senile fool! Do you REALLY think that "cruise ships" are recreational boats?

"basskisser" wrote in message
om...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
link.net...
That will really go over well on cruise ships.

Oh, you senile fool! Do you REALLY think that "cruise ships" are
recreational boats?

Well, people go on them for recreation.

How typical... one more opportunity for big gov to be our daddy.

Listen, everyone... regardless of which side of the aisle you align yourself
with, this has got to come down to personal liberty and responsibility.
This is in the same vein as helmet laws for motorcycles and seatbelt laws
for cars. Are they effective a saving lives? Absolutely. Is it a good
idea to use them? Without question. Should free citizens of this country
be forced into using them it they would otherwise choose not to? Certainly
not.

I have a 19 month old little girl. When she, her mother and I go out on my
little boat, she wears her PFD (as is the law) but her mother and I do not.
When I go out alone with my little girl, I put mine one BEFORE I deploy the
boat. They are decisions *I* make based on my personal judgment of the
situation.

The 750 boaters who died in '02 did so as a result of decisions they made
as individuals. Tragic, yes. However, if everytime someone dies were are
then likely to be compelled by government to relinquish yet another personal
choice then we cease to be a free people. Suggestions are great. Strongly
worded advice is wonderful. Just let me make the final choice, stupid or
not.

J


"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
Heads up.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be holding a public forum to
discuss
the merits of requiring all boaters to wear (not just carry) PFD.

**************************
Washington, D. C. -The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a
public
forum to discuss mandatory wear of personal flotation devices (PFD) on
recreational boats, NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners has announced.
The
one-day forum will begin at 9:00 am on August 25, 2004 at the NTSB Academy
in
Ashburn, VA.

The purpose of the forum is to gather all available data, and to promote
an
open and informative discussion of policy issues related to mandatory PFD
use.
The Safety Board has a long history of working to improve recreational
boating
safety. It has been on the Board's "Most Wanted" list of transportation
safety
improvements since its inception in 1990.

"The Board has made a solid commitment to advance recreational boating
safety
by all means available to our agency," said Chairman Engleman Conners. "A
public forum will be an excellent mechanism to bring together agencies and
organizations to identify solutions that will improve public safety in
recreational boating."

Coast Guard statistics show that 750 boaters died in 2002. Eighty-five
percent
of those who drowned were not wearing PFDs, even though in many cases,
PFDs
were aboard. These statistics have been consistent from year to year and
Coast
Guard statistics show that approximately 450 lives could be saved each
year if
the victims wore PFDs. The Safety Board wants to build on this information
and
other data available to evaluate the safety benefits of mandatory wearing
of
PFDs on recreational boating.

Currently, most States require PFD wear for children and for personal
watercraft operators. No State requires PFD wear for all occupants. Yet
six
years of observational studies by the Coast Guard show that less than 5%
of
adults in open boats wear PFDs.

Some of the issues discussed at the forum will be:

The impact of federal and/or state legislation mandating wearing of PFDs
on
recreational boats
Various vessels and type of operation that should be included in or
exempted
from mandatory wear rules
New PFD technology
Alternatives to mandatory wear rules

Registration details for the forum and directions to the Academy may be
found
on the Board's website at www.ntsb.gov.

NTSB Media Contact: Keith Holloway, (202) 314-6100

How typical... one more opportunity for big gov to be our daddy.

Listen, everyone... regardless of which side of the aisle you align yourself
with, this has got to come down to personal liberty and responsibility.
This is in the same vein as helmet laws for motorcycles and seatbelt laws
for cars. Are they effective a saving lives? Absolutely. Is it a good
idea to use them? Without question. Should free citizens of this country
be forced into using them it they would otherwise choose not to? Certainly
not.

I have a 19 month old little girl. When she, her mother and I go out on my
little boat, she wears her PFD (as is the law) but her mother and I do not.
When I go out alone with my little girl, I put mine one BEFORE I deploy the
boat. They are decisions *I* make based on my personal judgment of the
situation.

The 750 boaters who died in '02 did so as a result of decisions they made
as individuals. Tragic, yes. However, if everytime someone dies were are
then likely to be compelled by government to relinquish yet another personal
choice then we cease to be a free people. Suggestions are great. Strongly
worded advice is wonderful. Just let me make the final choice, stupid or
not

I agree completely, with one very important caveat:

Don't want to wear a helmet, a seat belt, or wear a PFD in a small, open boat?
No problem.
You shouldn't have to.

However, with personal freedom comes personal responsibility. No helmet, seat
belt, or PFD? Don't expect the taxpayers to search for you at public expense,
haul you to the hospital at public expense, cure you or bury you at public
expense, pay for your rehab or subsidize your survivors.

The risks you assume when you eschew basic safety precautions should be your
risks and yours alone. Perhaps you have the right to expose your own family to
the risk of loss of a breadwinner, etc, but why should everybody in society be
asked to pay for one individual's stubborn streak or stupidity?

"Big Daddy" not oly sets the rules, he's there to bail you out when things go
bad.
Don't want to follow the rules? OK. Just don't expect the bail out. Very
simple.

but why should everybody in society be
asked to pay for one individual's stubborn streak or stupidity?


Why indeed?
This is typical liberal claptrap. They insist that the government must bail out
every stupid person who gets hurt or poor, then they bitch about it when
everyone does not follow their idea of what is safe or prudent.


This is the single biggist fear I have about socialized medicine. Once it
becomes someone else's money we may be barred from doing anything that is in
the slightest bit dangerous, determined by people who think going to the movies
is about as adventuresome as we should be.

Why indeed?
This is typical liberal claptrap. They insist that the government must bail
out
every stupid person who gets hurt or poor, then they bitch about it when
everyone does not follow their idea of what is safe or prudent.

Speaking as a liberal, that's not at all what I said!

My approach would be: 1) Nobody is required to take basic safety precautions.
Want to go out in an open boat without a PFD, ride a motorcycle without a
helmet, or drive around without a seatbelt? Cool.
It's your life.

However, when lack of a seatbelt, PFD, or helmet leads directly to a condition
where you become a public expense.....sorry. You made an informed decision to
take the risk knowing that death or injury were possible results. Total
personal freedom = total personal responsibility.

If you want the public resources to help in time of emergency, it only makes
sense to
abide by the basic steps that would reduce the liklihood those resources would
have to be used.

Now there *are* some rules and requirements that need to be enforced. Those
that would likely impact innocent bystanders. For example, you should be
reasonably required to show running lights after dark, or make sure the brakes
are working on your car. It's not just your own life on the line.

"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.