Re: [Paddlewise] Safety in Recreational Kayaks

With all due respect, Jim, why don't we just cut to the chase and legislate 
that people not get out of bed in the morning. That would sure eliminate a 
lot of problems.

Seriously, whatever has happened to the concept of personal responsibility. 
Quite frankly I don't have a bit of sympathy for people who die doing 
stupid things, whether out of irresponsibility or ignorance.

I'm a private pilot but I've practically quit because the fun has pretty 
much been legislated out of it and the resulting costs are beyond my 
budget. I used to SCUBA dive but the certification requirements made it 
more of a hassle that it is worth, IMO. We even used to make our own tanks 
out of fire extinguishers before that was made verboten. Never had a 
problem with them if we used the appropriate safety precautions. Back when 
I was riding motorcycles the Virginia legislature tried to mandate seat 
belts for them. Some do-gooder who had never ridden a bike thought that 
since it worked for cars that it should work for motorcycles.

And yes, I am a personal freedom freak but I also wear my PFD while 
kayaking (though it is often unzipped).

Where does it stop and why do you even care if I kill myself or not??
Back to lurking,
Dave G.
The other Poquoson, Va paddler (heavy into personal responsibility)

At 16:53 4/18/02, siguiriya_at_attbi.com wrote:
>Steve writes:
>  . . . why don't we also legislate and require the use
>of . . .
>13. PFD (worn not carried)
>----------------------------------------
>Yes, why not?
>
<snip a bunch>

>jim holman
>
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