The 'We Say' column titled “Avoid Death — Wear a lifejacket” was very good. However, I'll make this letter short and sweet.

Education over the decades with boaters has failed to prevent deaths, since the high death rate of boating 'accidents' is still death due to drowning and most could have been prevented by wearing a lifejacket. As a boater, I always wear it even on those hot and uncomfortable days and it still amazes me that I am in the very, very minority on the water.

The government must show leadership and end this carnage on the water, by making wearing lifejackets mandatory. We do with seat belts, bike helmets, motorcycle helmets and many other regulations that we all learn to live with. Especially when past practices and accidents have proven it is required. Yes, there are the few that continue to ignore regulations but enforcement is the only way you can deal with them. It seems very foolish to me to have RCMP and Coast Guard boats on many of the waterways checking on safety equipment and doing education, when they should have the legislation on their side and should be enforcing mandatory wearing of lifejackets as well, a much better use of this resource that we taxpayers continue to support. When people appear to refuse to recognize a common sense approach to this issue, then it's time to regulate to protect them as we do in many other arenas that do save lives and prevent hardship to families.

I just don't understand why this issue is not addressed with this simple solution, but then again maybe a common sense approach to things remains elusive as this skill set appears to be disappearing more and more as the years pass.

JIM MOORHEAD 

Kamloops