Congress asked to improve fishing (boat) safety

[fyremanjef]

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, cited recent Coast Guard statistics showing that an average of 127 fishing vessels and 58 lives were lost annually from 1994 to 2004.

"For years, Congress required that fishing vessels be equipped with lifejackets but little else -- which is a bit like asking airline passengers to make sure to pack their parachutes before boarding but not requiring seat belts or emergency exits or fire suppression systems on planes," Cummings said.


Read more here:
Article (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/04/25/congress_asked_to_improve_fishing_safety/)

[bmcox86]

its abouut time, if u go out on a boat you own, u should atleast have taken boaters safety, i took it and passed when i was 9, thats almost 12 years ago

[surfchunker]

That is a very low number .... about 1 per state a year .... in contrast .... How many are killed by bee stings every year .... How many drown at the beach ... Not to mention drunk drivers ... spouse abuse .... child abuse ...

I think they can find better things to spend our money on ....

[Lipyourown]

Those are low numbers, what is the problem?

[AtlantaKing]

Yeah. I'm glad they've already solved the entire nation's problems so they can start focusing on the other stuff :rolleyes:

[mdram]

maybe start by enforsing the rules already in effect.


ever seen a 40 footer throw a wake over the rear end of a 15 footer by passing within 20' of it at very high speed? whatever happened to throw no wake within 100' of an unpowered vessel?

and thats just a start