Dow Constantine (and Safety Seattlest) Says: Wear a Life Jacket, Idiot
Hooray! The sun is finally out, and it's supposed to be around all weekend. What exciting news. Now, time for your PM buzzkill, from your friends in government, and here at Safety Seattlest.
Yesterday, King County Executive Dow "Blue Tie" Constantine called for a summer-long life jacket requirement throughout the county. Due to lots of snow melt, rising rivers and heavy rain fall, the area's waterways are, according to Dow, are "unusually swift and cold this year." If the Council approves this proposal, the ordinance would take effect immediately, and remain as such until Oct. 31 of this year. The mandate would require life jackets for not just boaters, but also floaters and swimmers in the County's major waterways. The first infraction would receive only a warning, while the second would receive an $86 fine.
While getting fined for floating may seem unfair to drunk college kids who want to drift down the river on an inflated air mattress with a 6-pack tethered to it, drowning is a pretty terrible way to die. Also, it happens kind of a lot. According to the the Washington Department of Health, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury/death for kids under 17 in the state of Washington. Why? Because they're not wearing life-jackets. The Coast Guard estimates that of those who drowned in 2009 (the most recent year these numbers were available), 84% weren't wearing one.
Even those who don't boat (which is probably most of us), however, should consider a personal flotation device, even if the Council doesn't pass this law. Unlike wearing a helmet when you're biking (which you should do anyway), which protects your brain from immediate injury, a life jacket can help you out if you get in too deep, get caught in an eddy, or just get separated from your friends. Even if you get tired out while trying to get to shore, your life jacket will keep you from going under and not coming back.
This concludes your first and probably only safety message from the folks at Seattlest. Now go have fun.
