$200 If not......

Whats up with this new law....
On some beaches you must wear a life jacket or wetsuit when surfing WTF??....$200 fine if not
applies to boogie boarding, windsurfing as well..
but swim as you are!!

Fucking ridiculous if you ask me. As I said to my Mum when eating breakfast: "And politicians wonder why the younger generations are losing their faith in government - this is a fine example of the stupidity of the fucking morons who are in charge of our country."

*shakes head* The heavy hand of local government reighs supreme. Do this! Do that! Don't do this! You might hurt yourself!

Bah, if people want to take risks like that, let them goddam do it - it's not harming anyone else - and it gives them a lot more enjoyment I'm sure.

If I go to Whangamata next year I most certainly am not wearing a life jacket while boogie boarding - and I really suck at boogie boarding eh.

What the govt are trying to do is save money, like always. If you wear a life jacket you won't drown so you won't need saving and you won't be travelling in an ambulance and you won't need a doctor and you won't need a hospital you won't stay and you won't need ACC. See how much money they have saved by making this law and how much they have made from fines what a good idea. Thats the logic they use so they can take funds of hospitals et al so they can have a pay rise. But guess what people will always find a way of getting hurt so their plan sux

It is crap, who really is going to do as they say?

It an't going to happen! even thou it has... :/ hmmm... well we people an't going to listen!

Then again, how they going to fine you?

"Beach Police"

;D ahahahah

Yeah, yet another stupidly unenforceable law. If you see the cops milling around at the beach are you gonna come in from the surf? Nope, you're gonna swim away down the beach....

I realise that it saves money, which is a good reason in some circumstances, but not when it impinges so heavily on personal freedom and individual responsibility. The risk of dying should be enough to make people wear a life jacket if they feel they are not confident swimmers.

The thing I heard pointed out on bfm yesterday was that as a percentage far more swimmers get into trouble, so should it not be the swimmers needing the floatation devices. Also the most important safety equipment for a boogie boarder is flippers.

If u cant swim, Dont get in the water.

bahahaha that law is so stupid. i laugh in there face no one is going to wear a life jacket anyway a wetsuit kinnda does the same thing it acts as a boyancy thing.

Okay, so there are some morons in the water...

Mostly these are the Windsurfers and Jet Skiers, these peeps however do not really pose a threat to themeselves. They are a threat to swimmers. If any fine should be imposed it should be on Windsurfers and Jet skiers going at to higher speeds to close to shore.

My friend got run over by a jet ski, she lived because she wasn't weraing a life jacket.

Boogie boarders would be benefited by wearing fins... rather than a wetsuit or life jacket.

ohh and akl council aint imposing it

"She lived because she wasn't weaing a life jacket"? How does that work? *inquisitive look*

Akl councilo isn't imposing it, but it applies to a lot of the big Coromandel beaches, e.g. Whangamata.

She jumped off her uncles boat to catch a hat that had flowen away *as u do* and anyway a jet skier hit her....

The boyancy of a life jacket would of made her higher in the water and therefore the impact of the accident would of been worse *yeap*

Ah who cares... who's gonna inforce it anyway... they already don't impose their other laws!

ahhh just pay the life gaurds... then we'll be happy to pull people out of danger *for now i prefer to laze on the beach getting a tan*

Stupid farking law! The majorety of drowning cases are of incompetent or insuficiently supervised swimmers,or people fishing of rocks. Board riders are tethered to a floatation device already,(legrope,leash,whatever).I think a magorety of windsurfers wear lifevests anyway so the laws a crock! Cant see it lasting. Fucken beurocrats! UPYOURS!!!!

hehehehe, later on in the metro mag, it says john banks was pulled over for speeding on his new and unregistered jetski with 3 passengers not wearing lifejackets. the article didn't say he was fined but mentioned him pleading 'ignorance of the rules'.

anyone can be ignorant to the point it turns into humour. this scenario makes a laughing stock out of the system we're supposed to have faith in. who the hell does this punk think he is and what is he doing to this city?

and sorry? who's a menace to our society?

Yeah, that John Banks story is at least a month old... as in it was in the papers.

oh true,

it was in the 'most dubious awards of 2001' part of metro. but still, amazing what you don't hear about sometimes.

Im not a surfer, but when I first heard about this law I thought it would be MORE dangerous to wear a life jacket while youre surfing/boogie boarding because if you get dumped by a wave I reckon the best thing to do is dive down and let the wave roll over you. If youre wearing a jacket youre gonna get stuck in the wash arent you?
Isnt the statistic something like 12 surfers in the last 10 years or something?
How can you enforce the fine? Make people register their surfboards?

Do these idiots think before passing laws?

thats the thing those idiots dnt think, its the swimmers that drown anyway not as surfers we all look out for one another and help others if they get into trouble, the best thing to do is ofer free swiming lessons that would solve pretty much all the problems.

how are you meant to duck dive, or anything with a god damm life jacket??!?!

just one more way ill be breaking the law this summer...hahahaha!