Licensure may be a more compelling argument when regulating powercraft or watercraft used to transport passengers for hire. It will remain moot until the 'tragedy' of these recurrent accidents becomes a cost burden on communities (either by direct expense of SAR operations and/or litigation); the perception of those who perish shifts toward a 'victim' orientation and away from the 'due to operator ignorance and error' tag; or the scope and urgency of the accidents begins to reach a more localized critical mass. In this last scenario, some communities or locations where these types of accidents become burdensome will begin to limit access, regulate sale & leasing, etc. The current age group represented by the 12-19 year old demographic is the largest generation ever in the US. They represent a 150 billion dollar a year market. If 'outdoor' entertainment becomes heavily favored by this population, then one might expect numbers, accidents, and consequences to perhaps reach such critical mass. On the other hand that 150 billion figure also represents a significant sense of economic entitlement that is, in large, anti-regulatory. What happens if this sort of accident, predicated by ill-prepared, improperly equipped, and environmentally ignorant 'victims' begins to rack up a toll reported in the same breath as 'holiday traffic fatalities'? -wjj *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Apr 16 2002 - 21:53:13 PDT
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