Friday, August 17, 2007

Tragic

I just read in the Daily Herald Tribune online news that a guy has gone missing and is presumed drowned in B.C. after going out in his boat ALONE, and (it's believed) WITHOUT a PFD. The article goes on to describe what a great guy he was and how dedicated he was to his family -his wife and his children.
I'm going to take a harsh point of view and argue that this guy couldn't have thought his family that important if he was willing to go out in a personal watercraft without wearing a PFD. I seems to me to be a very selfish thing to do. I can't prove that his wearing a PFD would have saved him, but I would be willing to argue that his odds of survival would have been greatly increased.
Most accidental drownings are preventable when proper safety precautions and rules are followed. I know that boating deaths have dramatically decreased in the last 10 years, but still we have people who refuse to follow or ignore simple safety standards. Why? I don't know the answer. Perhaps plain ignorance (but I find that hard to believe in this day and age), or perhaps it's an expression of freedom. I would say however, that if someone was truly devoted to his family that he would not take such unnecessary risks and would definitely educate himself with regards to boating safety.
Would you agree or disagree?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

interstingly, his 12 yr old son was watching as he went under. He was in 2-3 ft of water and tying the boat to shore when it happened. A very bizarre story. Younger than us with quite a few kids.

Kristen from GP