no wading w/o a pfd??

this really has to fall into the category of "srsly, wtf?!" seems king county has made it mandatory to have a pfd for all it's inhabitants;

Re: No wading for you without a life jacket in King County this year
NEW SECTION. SECTION 3. There is hereby added to K.C.C. chapter 12.44 a new section to read as
follows:
All persons who are on or in major rivers in King County shall wear a personal flotation device at all
times. A person is on a major river if that person is floating in or upon any type of buoyant device, including
but not limited to any boat, raft, log raft, vessel, watercraft, air mattress, inner tube, surf board, sail board,
canoe or kayak, on the waters of any major river as defined in this title. A person is in a major river if that
person is swimming or wading more than five feet from shore, or in water more than four feet in depth and that person is not within the boundaries of a designated public swimming area, engaging in skin diving as defined and regulated by this title or is a person over eighteen years of age and is an angler fishing while wading in the river.

See  http://kingcounty.legistar.com/Legis...ptions=&Search     for the full text .

That is epic.   Do you have to wear a helmet when you cross the street in that county in case you get hit by a car?

Reminds me of when I was stopped by a CGR and told I should be very careful and wear and immersion suit when paddling on the water.   The water was 65 degrees and the air was 84.  I pointed at the swimmers and kids playing in the water near the dock and asked if he'd told them the same thing. 

All this damn care bear crap is getting really annoying.

Crap, I live it every day at work, either replacing already new 30" stop signs knocked down, putting in pedestrian islands, speed bumps, stop ahead signs, and all that other "babysitting " for adult stuff. what do they do? Call me on a city CELL phone while i drive to tell me of new stuff to fix. I told them cell phones arent in my job description, leave a message , i'll pull over.

I thought not forcing people to wear a PFD while tubing and swimming drunk was how we kept certain genes out of the gene pool.

Wow the PFD makers lobbyists sure have a lot of juice around K County!

That's just f'ing stupid.

...Cause we all know the government knows what's  best for us sheeple...

Just frakin ridicilous!!

News flash...PFD's now required in bathtubs deeper then 12 inches..

WR's post title is misleading.  People on Major rivers are being required to have PFDs. 

Read between the lines:  Too many drunk idiots are drowning while tubing or otherwise screwing around in fast moving rivers.  How many competent (read:  non-morons) people do you know that SWIM OR WADE more than 5 feet from shore or more than 4 feet deep in a MAJOR RIVER in the NW without a life vest?

Is it overkill?  Probably, but it's not without cause either.

I think it is funny that it is ok to wade with out a PFD if you are fishing and over 18 but not ok if you are just standing there.
In related news where the government is trying to save us from ourselves you are now required to look both ways 3 times before crossing the road unless you happen you be carrying a yellow, blue or green bag and are over the age of 18.

Dumb drunks will still drown in the river ..... let them. Now the cops are happy that they can ticket these groups of idiots.

On a side note .... Don't be an idiot.

A guy from Florida died on the Methow a few years ago, while wading and fishing. The river wasn't all that high, but he didn't know what areas were safe to cross and at what flows.

A couple of weeks ago we had a westside couple that had to be rescued off a rootwad because they tried to float the river in high water in a $30 raft. They found out that the river during runoff (12,000cfs +) is a different animal than it is in August when it is running at 350 cfs. Lucky for them that they had on PDFs- however, they got pretty cold because they didn't have thermal protection.

When I was guiding wade trips on the river, I always offered inflatable PFDs to my clients and if the river was over 500cfs, they were mandatory for any aggressive wading. A fast flow above the knees can easily knock someone off their feet, especially if they aren't use to dealing with a current.

There have been a lot of drownings in King County, especially in the Green R. Gorge.

Dumb drunks will still drown in the river ..... let them. Now the cops are happy that they can ticket these groups of idiots.

On a side note .... Don't be an idiot.

Funny you would say that, after being so defensive about the non-pfd wearing guy that drowned earlier this year.  Hi pot, meet Kettle.


Anyway, this measure is TEMPORARY and seems to me some sensationalist (read: media propaganda artist) got WR all worked up.

Facts here:   http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/June/~/media/exec/news/documents/2011/PFD_ordinance_fact_sheet_6_2_11.ashx

Dumb drunks will still drown in the river ..... let them. Now the cops are happy that they can ticket these groups of idiots.

On a side note .... Don't be an idiot.

Funny you would say that, after being so defensive about the non-pfd wearing guy that drowned earlier this year.  Hi pot, meet Kettle.


Anyway, this measure is TEMPORARY and seems to me some sensationalist (read: media propaganda artist) got WR all worked up.

Facts here:   http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/June/~/media/exec/news/documents/2011/PFD_ordinance_fact_sheet_6_2_11.ashx

My point is that we don't need to government to safe guard our lives. It is one thing to say don't be stupid. It is another to dance on a man's grave and point a finger singing I told you so.

Millions of American die from heart disease every year from being fat and lazy and we are ok with that but if half a dozen drown we need new laws ...... Come on! Let us live our own lives!

Dumb drunks will still drown in the river ..... let them. Now the cops are happy that they can ticket these groups of idiots.

On a side note .... Don't be an idiot.

Funny you would say that, after being so defensive about the non-pfd wearing guy that drowned earlier this year.  Hi pot, meet Kettle.


Anyway, this measure is TEMPORARY and seems to me some sensationalist (read: media propaganda artist) got WR all worked up.

Facts here:   http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/June/~/media/exec/news/documents/2011/PFD_ordinance_fact_sheet_6_2_11.ashx

My point is that we don't need to government to safe guard our lives. It is one thing to say don't be stupid. It is another to dance on a man's grave and point a finger singing I told you so.

Millions of American die from heart disease every year from being fat and lazy and we are ok with that but if half a dozen drown we need new laws ...... Come on! Let us live our own lives!

Excuse me for jumping in.

Yes we do need some government to safeguard our lives and property. Ever heard of the Police, Fire Department or the Coast Guard? Three government agencies that are fundamental (for all their flaws) to our safety. Kayakers especially should be thankful there is a USCG with motorized lifeboats and helicopters etc. on call to save our asses on ch 16, should it be necessary.

Yes there are plenty of ineffective/counterproductive etc. laws out there but you have to look at the bigger picture IMHO.

For the record, I'm NOT ok with the acceptance of obesity.  There should be a fat tax and lots of other things to fix that issue.  If you only knew...  You'll have to ask me in person some time, I can't put it on the interwebs.

Dumb drunks will still drown in the river ..... let them. Now the cops are happy that they can ticket these groups of idiots.

On a side note .... Don't be an idiot.

Funny you would say that, after being so defensive about the non-pfd wearing guy that drowned earlier this year.  Hi pot, meet Kettle.


Anyway, this measure is TEMPORARY and seems to me some sensationalist (read: media propaganda artist) got WR all worked up.

Facts here:   http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/June/~/media/exec/news/documents/2011/PFD_ordinance_fact_sheet_6_2_11.ashx

My point is that we don't need to government to safe guard our lives. It is one thing to say don't be stupid. It is another to dance on a man's grave and point a finger singing I told you so.

Millions of American die from heart disease every year from being fat and lazy and we are ok with that but if half a dozen drown we need new laws ...... Come on! Let us live our own lives!

I agree with you 100%

WR's post title is misleading.  People on Major rivers are being required to have PFDs. 

Read between the lines:  Too many drunk idiots are drowning while tubing or otherwise screwing around in fast moving rivers.  How many competent (read:  non-morons) people do you know that SWIM OR WADE more than 5 feet from shore or more than 4 feet deep in a MAJOR RIVER in the NW without a life vest?

Is it overkill?  Probably, but it's not without cause either.

How many do I know? everyone I know.  This has revenue maker written all over it.  I like how it says more than 5ft from shore "OR" in more than 4 ft of water.  So if they want they can and probably will tick some poor 17 year old kid for being 6 ft from the bank in 14" of water without a PFD.