Most of it has been said: regulation seldom solves anything, and is anathema to most sea-kayakers, many of whom paddle in part to get away from a life of form-filling and rules. Insisting on standardised safety features for sea kayaks sounds reasonable, but where would that leave someone who has built a skin and frame kayak at home? What about folding kayaks? I am of course all for education, advice, point-of -sale-or-hire responsibility etc. But we also need to accept that each one of us is ultimately responsible for our own actions and our own lives. I might, of course, get into trouble or die next time I go out in my kayak - although I am far more likely to die driving my car or riding my bicycle: I try to do all three responsibly, but... What's killing people all the time here in Scotland and, I'll warrant, in Canada, U.S., Oz, NZ, even Switzerland? Cigarettes, alcohol abuse, lousy diet and lack of exercise. Big public education programmes, high taxation on tobacco and booze, but still people reckon it won't affect them. Enough pontificating: I'll probably do something really stupid with the office stapler now and have desk-bound workers across four continents shake their heads and say "people like that Nick Reiter shouldn't be allowed anywhere near stationery equipment!" Stay safe and unlicensed Nick *************************************************************************** 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 Wed Apr 17 2002 - 02:33:47 PDT
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