The King County Council passed an ordinance requiring anyone more than 5 feet from shore in a river to wear a life jacket or face a fine.
Sheriff Sue Rahr and other supporters say it’s for public safety and contend that public education isn’t enough to entice people to wear personal flotation devices (PFDs).
They cite one study on the Cedar River that found most youth weren’t wearing PFDs. They also highlight a Coast Guard report that revealed up to 90 percent of boating related drowning victims didn’t have on PFDs.
The emotional cost of such tragedies is immeasurable in addition to the real cost of rescue operations. PFDs save lives. Thus, their requirement is necessary and worth it.
Why not extend this public safety motif to require all people in our streets to wear orange reflective safety vests? Many more people are hurt and killed each year as pedestrians in our streets than in rivers. This is despite decades of public education about looking both ways before crossing the street.
The vast majority of victims struck by vehicles aren’t wearing safety vests. If safety vests didn’t work, then crossing guards, traffic cops, flaggers, and construction workers wouldn’t wear them. This new ordinance could simply require people more than 5 feet from the curb to don a safety vest or face a fine.
If it can save one life, isn’t it worth it?
Dee Voss,
Renton
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