Mandatory life vests , question from lucky

[lucky]

I have been watching boating regulations become more and more stringent!my fear is we are going to shadow the auto industry - and thats not fair
I was wondering when do you think it is going to be mandatory for everyone to wear a lifevest while a vessel is underway ? ( like a seat belt ticket ) and where do you see boat safey in 10 years --
I would be against it , as my boating is on smaller unpopulated lakes , until recently i have been hangin on clearlake and could see this potentialy happening as more populated the lake more room for error - stupididty what ever you want to call it ----
I rember sitting on my dads lap driving the boat at berreysse - while he was slamming beer ( not an uncommon practice back then ) anyways this is my serious question !

[Dribble]

I don't think it will happen soon and here's why.
The seat belt law, helmet laws, lower DUI standards etc. were the result of the insurance industry lobbying the state and federal governments. The idea being they would have to pay on fewer lawsuits. These laws were the result of the federal government imposing economic sanctions on states that would not pass legislation addressing these issues after heavy lobbying and glad handing by big insurance. Some states (like Arizona) resist as long as they can but ultimately have to cave if they want their highway and building money (taxes that the citizens pay but aren't returned in the form of federal spending in the state).
Up to this point, the insurance industry has not identified the lack of life jackets while boats are underway as something that costs them big money (like OUI for example). Therefore, they probably won't lobby for new laws.
We should keep these things in mind however, the next time the issue of licensing boat operators comes up.

[Boatcop]

The Boating Safety folks have been kicking mandatory PFD wearing around for many years. Congress and the Coast Guard have held several hearings on the issue. And each time the Boating lobby has nixed it. We still advocate voluntary wear, and the industry has responded with PFD models that are more comfortable, practical and stylish, than the orange monstrosities that were the only things available 25 years ago.
Automatic inflatables are the latest.
It is still a fact that, Nationwide, most people (about 80%) who die in boating incidents die from drowning, rather than injury or trauma. (AZ is the exception) And that wearing a PFD would have saved their lives.
But in the grand scheme of things that only amounts to about 550 deaths a year where PFDs would have saved their lives. While any death is a tragedy, when compared to the millions of boats and boaters out there, that number is fairly insignificant. And it's getting lower almost every year.
With tens of thousands of people dieing in motor vehicle accidents, the mandatory seat belt laws makes sense. But so far, I personally don't see the numbers to make PFD use mandatory. (except for kids)

[centerhill condor]

lifejacket won't save your life unless you're wearing it! After reading the near misses and sunk boats due to steering/mechanical failure I wear the thing...You never know these pwcs might run over you and you'd ordinarily survive but drown? not me buddy! I'll live long enough to beat the sob and say his injuries were result of the crash... the hatchet marks might raise a few eyebrows...

[Rexone]

lifejacket won't save your life unless you're wearing it! After reading the near misses and sunk boats due to steering/mechanical failure I wear the thing...You never know these pwcs might run over you and you'd ordinarily survive but drown? not me buddy! I'll live long enough to beat the sob and say his injuries were result of the crash... the hatchet marks might raise a few eyebrows...
Make sure you have a floatie on the hatchet... :)

[Rexone]

I don't see any mandatory PFD for adults coming soon. I do see some form of mandatory education being enacted though. CA is one of a few states that doesn't already have it in some form. There is a bill in the CA leg right now being bounced around last I heard. I feel mandatory ed is a good step as it will wake some people up possibly to basic navigation rules, like the examples in the "head on collision" thread.

[centerhill condor]

mandatory boater's ed class for dob after '89 in TN...could be the only diploma some of these guys every get!