Lake Michigan Drownings

[Hand Skills]

I must be getting old - I once had libertarian ideals, but now my first response is;

Remove the 'warning labels', let the problem sort itself out.

People are way too dumb, and they are just getting dumber.

Stupidity is placing a burden on our already underfunded LEO/EMS/SAR departments.

I was SAR for many years, but just can't stomach the absolute disregard for personal safety I have seen.

Yes, human life is beautiful, but at some point we are all responsible for the choices we make...

 

[Muddyboots]

Maybe Michigan should take similar approach some western states take on rescue. Do something really stupid and get charged for rescue services used to get them. Seriously, going out on a pier when waves are washing over them is "natural selection" at the very finest! Taking a small craft out in small craft warnings is no difference. I have helped salvage boats by some fishermen I knew that were driven up on beaches and rocks as last ditch effort to save themselves. They left safe harbor and stated " I think I can make it" to next harbor. These lakes are no different than the ocean, either you have the craft that can sustain itself in the conditions or you don't. There is nothing in between except DISASTER! People are just so flippant about their own safety on the lakes it is lunacy at the very least.

 

[P7M13]

I was SAR for many years, but just can't stomach the absolute disregard for personal safety I have seen.

You SAR guys are pretty amazing. So are the folks who maintain the PCT.
What astounds me is people are so caught up in their own discomfort, they cannot recognize the heat exhaustion in their dog. I said to one group, "go home now or your dog will die." Advised others to gett heir dog to a creek immediately. Idjits.
@Muddyboots, when I read your OP about the canoe bloke, the sick part of me thought, "help him? Push him under with an oar."

 

[MIBirdhunter]

Almost all of the fatalities on lake Michigan are usually either swimmers or people who go out on the piers when conditions keep most people with common sense from venturing out on the piers. The swimmers disregard the red warning flags and underestimate the danger from the rip currents. I have been evolved in both rescue attempts and body recovery and almost all have evolved the disregarding of the red warning flags with a few getting washed off the piers. Unfortunately every weekend that is windy someone drowns and rescue personnel risk their lives trying to save them or recover their bodies. Sad for everyone.

 

[wv270wsm]

Just last weekend here in Wv a 29 yr old was killed while being pulled behind a boat on the lake . Slammed into a rock wall her and 2 other women were on the tube . People loose all common sense while they are having a good time.
I agree with remove the warning labels

 

[slv hunter]

My Dad used to say, if you're going to be stupid you have to be tuff. You can't fix stupid

 

[wv270wsm]

My Dad used to say, if you're going to be stupid you have to be tuff. You can't fix stupid

I tell my kids all the time if you're gonna be dumb you'd better be tough. Then of course I get scolded by the wife but they will learn the hard way I guess

 

[mongo4567]

Sometimes it is youth/lack of experience. I lost a nephew this last year. He was hunting in waders on a small lake and not wearing flotation, using a canoe to get to his hunting spot. It is tragic.

 

[Rosebud]

Leave those people alone, I was employed for nearly 40 years because of them, I was a Nationality Registered Paramedic. Worked early on when I got out of the military for ambulance service. Then dept of the army, dept of justice, then FEMA. Was paramedic Chief of the Center for Domestic Preparedness. I was a finger pointer. I'd point my finger at the other paramedics and they did the work. I thought it was a well deserved job.