Re: [Paddlewise] Safety , Responsibility and nonsense

dldecker_at_mediaone.net wrote:
> 
> Gee-whiz more people die from bee stings than canoe or kayak coming off and
> hitting a car that is behind.

Yes the risk is lower than bee stings but it is also easily preventable.
Bees are a necessary part of nature (and agriculture). There's not much
we can do about them.  The kayak on your car is a risk that is easy to
control. 

> If you are that worried about being hit then don't follow behind a car with
> a boat on top, period. Simple isn't it.

Not really.  You can't always avoid being at least temporarily behind
one.  There is also a risk to cars coming the other way.

> Just because you don't like some
> thing don't impose it on others. I am not fond of British round chine
> kayaks but it ok with me if you paddle one,

Of course not.  A round chine kayak is of no risk to you - unless some
#_at_$% doesn't tie it down well enough on their car because they don't
care or haven't learned yet.

> People forget it
> is just your opinion , not law ,and that and $2500 will buy you a new kayak.

If your kayak injures or kills someone else, you would be risking one
heck of a big lawsuit.
My father had a boat come off a car. Fortunately no cars were close
behind. 
I sold a mattress to a guy who had it come off his car a couple of
minutes later. He had insisted it was tied on well enough & refused
extra rope. A following car drove over it. Luckily the only casualty was
the mattress.
Friends had a gutter mount rack come loose.  All that saved their canoe
was their extra tiedowns. My car was right behind them when this
happened. Yes, $2500 would have bought them a new canoe but that
wouldn't have helped me if I died because of it. I'm very glad they were
careful. 
Another friend sloppily tied his kayak onto his car. When the kayak came
off, the rope from the front bumper let the kayak drop down beside the
car.  Somehow the kayak got ahead & wedged against a front wheel. It
forced him into a ditch at speed where he rolled. He suffered a broken
collar bone. Fortunately his daughter was okay. Note: I don't paddle
with this guy any more.  He's an accident waiting to happen on & off the
water.
-- 
Lloyd Bowles
The Mad Canoeist
"Keep the open side up!"
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/clearstreets/358/index.html
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