When I was younger I had that mentality. Now though I would comply if anything to set an example for my kids.

It would be just like when they introduced the seatbelt law. We would bitch and moan about it for awhile and then we'd get used to it and wouldn't even think about it.

Why not?  After all, they are comfortable now, they save lives, and it's a good example to my kids.  I usually wear one anyway, so it wouldn't make a difference in my boat.  I've had a buddy who had a mini stroke while boating, and he lost control - his grandkids were in the boat and one ended up going over - life jacket saved that kid.

Better safe than sorry, I think.

BS to me. 

At some point people need to be allowed to use their own judgement.  If your judgement sucks and something happens to you, your own fault.

It is %100 impossible to protect people from their own stupidity.  You can try, but you'll never succeed. 

the only exception I see is kids.  You should not have full control of what is safe for kids.  So the law should dictate what is the standard level of safety measures that need to be taken with kids.


It gets me going a bit when people drown/die in atv crashes etc and the only thing that comes out of it is more rules. When in fact, 99% of the time the incident was caused by drinking, stupidity, poor judgement etc.. 

How's a helmet going to protect the 16 year old who constantly drinks and goes atving?  Or how's it going to protect them when they use the ATV beyond their own and the machines capabilities?

It's interesting how many fatalities and bad accidents that have happened in my area on atvs/boat/snowmobiles/vehicles where I know for a fact that alcohol was a factor, yet in the news reports no mention of alcohol was made.  Most cases it's when the victim is under 20 years old.

It's the stupid people that make the government think they need to protect the competent people from ourselves.


Yes, I do acknowledge that there is rare cases where it's not poor judgement that a safety device saved a life such as the poster above whose friend had a stroke.   These I'm guessing are pretty rare occasions.


I've fished from shore alone growing up from the time I was 12 and there was no adult within 1/2 mile.  I survived.

I've fished from boats tiny and big from the times I was maybe 8 and never wore a life jacket (exept once).  I could swim like a fish thoguh.  I survived.  There was one time I had to wear a life jacket when I fished with a freind and his dad from their tinner when I Was about 13.  It was their families rules. 


I went off there lol... But wow there's way too many rules and it gets worse every single year. 

 Here are some stats about drownings in Canada....I thought the numbers
  Per capita were higher .


   http://www.lifesaving.bc.ca/sites/default/files/imce/CanadianDrowningReport_ENGLISH_web_6.pdf

   I believe that there are a lot of people in the world whose sole purpose
    for being here is to serve as a bad example . So upon perusing the arguments
    Seems to me that taking precautions like wearing a life jacket actually increases
     Your mental capacity . I couldn't agree more these laws are only for stupid people
      Because smart people take precautions like life jackets . I think I understand the
       argument , I think .

Here are some stats about drownings in Canada....I thought the numbers
  Per capita were higher .


   http://www.lifesaving.bc.ca/sites/default/files/imce/CanadianDrowningReport_ENGLISH_web_6.pdf

   I believe that there are a lot of people in the world whose sole purpose
    for being here is to serve as a bad example . So upon perusing the arguments
    Seems to me that taking precautions like wearing a life jacket actually increases
     Your mental capacity . I couldn't agree more these laws are only for stupid people
      Because smart people take precautions like life jackets . I think I understand the
       argument , I think .

I here your argument but at the same time there is a lost art in this world known as common sense. If and when the weather or situation dictates you wear a life jacket so be it. If you have young people in a boat that may not be able to swim or anyone that may not be able to swim then it may be time for them to wear a life jacket. Why on Gods green earth would I wear a life jacket on a calm day in my 20' long by 8'6' wide boat on a calm or even moderately rough day. For myself it makes no sense. There are times when I feel I may need one it does happen, especially when I am out on ten west coast.

The moral of this whole discussion is,, Laws can not fix stupid, they can't. You can't legislate weak people into longer I lives ( and why would we want to we have enough Liberals in the world )

As we create more laws in these nanny states to protect the weak we are becoming weaker as a population by the day. It's another cash grab in the waiting make no mistake the Libtards are drooling at the mouth waiting to get their greedy little fingers into this one.

If some feel they need the state to protect them from themselves throw on the jacket now. Personsly I would rather die free doing what I want  than die under the yoke of a Governemnt policy.