jet ski ban them

[charles_reed]

Re: But they\'re such good fun

You really can't put things back in Pandora's box - PWCs are here to stay.

The inevitable result will be regulation, everyone will have to be tested, carry certificates and water users will have to pay for the enforcers whether they be part of the police force or some new body.

It's all part of boating becoming popularised.

Personally I hate the things (they're far more common during holiday-time on continental european shores than the UK) and just frequent those places where they have difficulty in launching.

If youngsters want to kill themselves on the things that's their prerogative - some eminent sociologists theorise that the main reason for increased male adolescent misbehaviour is down to overprotection by society in general.

 

[ArthurWood]

BarryH - you sound like Charlton Heston re guns

 

[ArthurWood]

Re: \"It\'s not the gun that\'s dangerous,...

I think the solution is to ban their use in certain areas and within say 100ft of swimming areas and other boats. This seems to work pretty well in Florida. The difference over here is that there are police or Coast Guard around to enforce the regulations.

 

[jimi]

Re: But they\'re such good fun

I hate the things as well but a wee bit of me has respect for the lunatic who rode his PWC between the hulls of the fast cat from Poole. Bit unfair that he got fined £2000 when the only person's life he endangered was his own. Old adage that property is more valuable than life springs to mind.

Jim

 

[Guest]

Alternative tender

If someone could manufacture a loadable 'trailer' to tow behind a jetski.

 

[BarryH]

Re: \"It\'s not the gun that\'s dangerous,...

There, you'vr hit the nail on the head. Theres people there to enforce the rules. Over here theres bugger all people about to enforce the rules. Me and guns. Yep I go shooting, clays, and a bit of pest control and the occasional .22 rimfire target. My guns have never caused any injuries and I have never been a threat to society. So how someone can say that the gun is dangerous, is talking out of their arse, scuse the language. We had hand guns banned over here. It aint stopped the shootings and killings tho. Because its not the legitimate users that were causing the problems. The same senario as these jet skiers. They wont ban them, because the government got stung the last time they banned the public from owning and using something. And they're still paying out the compensation. Somewhere in the region of a few tens of millions of pounds at the last count. I can think of better things for the money to be spent on. Sorry, but I do wish people would think before.........Rant over.

OK, to hell with it. Unbolt it and we'll use it as an anchor!

 

[ArthurWood]

Re: \"It\'s not the gun that\'s dangerous,...

Sure, it's not the gun itself that is the problem, eg in the US, but it is its easy availability. About 40,000 people in the US die every year from gunshots (same as in auto accidents). If I remember correctly, about 70% are suicides, a large % are accidents and relatively few are during a crime or in self defence. If the guns weren't around with their use being so final there would not be so many deaths. But I'm fred drifting.....
p.s. and what are the US media concerning themselves with? West Nile Virus which has killed all of a dozen or so people!!

 

[Metabarca]

Re: \"It\'s not the gun that\'s dangerous,...

All this talk of climbing and diving reminds me of disputes in the climbing world re the use of spits (and pitons some decades ago). The argument being that you should not deface the mountain you're climbing, and if you need to make a route easier (by putting in a nail) in order to get up it, then get off! In other words, anything's fair as long as you don't spoil it for everyone else. I agree with some of the earlier postings that I reserve the right to brain myself as I see fit, but that my doing so must not endanger anyone else. Jet-skis too frequently do endanger people and are damned anti-social, noisy things to boot. There are similar disputes in many countries about the use of four-wheel drives vehicles and trail bikes for recreational use. Speed and the internal combustion engine equals danger and irritation for others; it is the fact that speed and engines attract morons that means that (unlike bicycles or windsurfers) such contraptions need regulations. Alas, alas, but there it is.

 

[Kathryn]

Apart from banning them which would do every one a big favour. All jet skiers should have to take a test which if they fail and get caught using a Jet ski should be banned and also there should be an age limit for users. They are a danger to them selves and other water sports people. There has recently been a death in Bahrain as well. Here they have the added problem of dehydration.