Quote:
Originally Posted by Alana Flames
Ya actually I can picture it now: A high-speed drunk rafting accident- Paralyzes all passengers for life and the Man at the helm of the paddle had been drinking! Gimme a break.
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If you refuse to watch the news, then I really see no point in continuing this discussion. Last year what you described happened. The "experienced person" on the raft was drunk, the raft slammed into a bridge pier at a high enough speed to cause at least two deaths, and send most of the other rafters to hospital. A persons head hitting solid concrete at 25km/h is enough to cause enough damage to cause a person to drown.
It happens, it's an issue, and it's being dealt with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alana Flames
And as far as people drowing being comparable to gang violence- NO ONE DROWNS ON THE ELBOW!! I said I was in favour of life jackets on the bow. But the elbow is ridiculous.
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I was discussing river rafting safety on Calgary's rivers. You are the one trying to divide them; when in fact the Elbow flows into the Bow, right? So what happens when a rafter enters the Bow and doesn't have a life jacket? Besides, the law is the law. Just as I am required to wear my seatbelt when I move my car from the front of the house into the lane, people on Calgary's rivers must wear life jackets.
What you are asking for is a risk assesment to be completed on each and every river, creek, and stream to determine if a life jacket is needed or not. And then what time of year, what past rainfall has there been, and many other things need to be assesed to determine if that life jacket is needed. I think that would be a far greater waste of taxpayer dollars that could be better spent on perhaps the gang unit of the police to try and catch those previously mentioned gang members you were so worried about.
And keep in mind you don't even have to wear a life jacket; a PFD is quite sufficient for most circumstances. I paid less than $30 for mine- I got one that fits me well and is very light weight- I really don't notice that it is on.
Bottom line is the city doesn't want to see people getting killed on our rivers. So there's a couple of simple rules to follow, and they made the rules as easy to follow and understand as they possibly could. They could have required boaters licenses, required safety inspections of our rafts, all sorts of things. But they didn't. All they want is the same rules so that as you go down the Elbow in your 5 chamber raft with a re-inforced hull you follow the same simple guidelines as the people who decided to launch a camping mattress down the Bow river. (And I have seen the latter done, and seen the ensuing arguement between the rafters and the fire department regarding live jackets.)