Life Rings at All Locks??

[matty40s]

Another Elf and Safe Tea moment of ridiculousness.

 

Mr Fleming plans to write to the Canal & River Trust asking for a review of safety at Lock 19 which did not have a life-ring

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14306452._Ridiculous__booze_cruise_ended_in_tragedy_when_grandad_fell_overboard_and_drowned/?ref=mr&lp=2

 

The pair were too pissed to sit down, never mind hold to to a life ring.

Darwin claims another.

[GoodGurl]

very sad but you can't guard against stupid.

[AMModels]

life ring would have made no difference, alcohol and stupidity were the contributing factors.

[Athy]

A regrettable incident, a foolish one probably, but to link Darwin's law with someone's death is perhaps regrettable also.

[matty40s]

A regrettable incident, a foolish one probably, but to link Darwin's law with someone's death is perhaps regrettable also.

The death was not this week, the coroners inquest was.

Darwins natural selection is entirely apt in this episode of sheer stupidity.

Why should CRT be expected to review safety at locks when the inebriated bloke fell off the boat.

[FadeToScarlet]

The EA have been removing life rings from locks, because people keep nicking them and it was expensive to replace them.

[NickF]

 

Why should CRT be expected to review safety at locks when the inebriated bloke fell off the boat.

From reading this forum I thought everything was CaRT's fault whether they had anything to do with it or not!

[MtB]

The death was not this week, the coroners inquest was.

Darwins natural selection is entirely apt in this episode of sheer stupidity.

Why should CRT be expected to review safety at locks when the inebriated bloke fell off the boat.

 

 

Not really, as the bloke had survived long enough to procreate. (He was a grandfather!)

[b0atman]

does he have letters after his name to put on his letter to CRT like P.R.A.T ( person responsible alcohol taboo)

[metanoia]

From reading this forum I thought everything was CaRT's fault whether they had anything to do with it or not!

Of course it is - they even make the papers call you "sobre" when you haven't had enough to drink - MUST be their FOLT.

 

ETA: Seriously, sad to hear and heartfelt sympathy to those left behind despite it all

Edited February 27, 2016 by metanoia

[Jim Riley]

"fell off a boat"??? there should have been a life ring available then. Awful all the same though.

[Alan de Enfield]

Another example of 'its someone else fault'

 

Mr Fleming plans to write to the Canal & River Trust asking for a review of safety at Lock 19 which did not have a life-ring.

 

Make everyone responsible for their own actions - make lifejackets compulsory.

[Dave_P]

If an incident happened at a lock I was working and a Perry buoy was needed, I'd deploy one of mine.

 

Of course, I see many boats who don't have one.

 

If someone falls in when no boat us near then no buoy will be there obviously. But then neither would there be on any other bit of canal or river. Would anyone seriously suggest that there should be a buoy every 50 yards across the whole network?

[Paul C]

Life ring on every boat, kinda makes sense. Not sure if its a requirement for hireboats? But locks have ladders, there is still a reasonable chance of getting out if you fell in. The main danger would be the boat hitting or squashing you etc. Life ring not much help there. Being coherent in the first place helps a lot though.

[FredDrift]

Life ring on every boat, kinda makes sense. Not sure if its a requirement for hireboats? But locks have ladders, there is still a reasonable chance of getting out if you fell in. The main danger would be the boat hitting or squashing you etc. Life ring not much help there. Being coherent in the first place helps a lot though.

Having hired many boats, I don't recall one with a life ring on the roof but in every instance, life jackets were available if required.

[Peter X]

It seems sensible to me that a coroner can make suggestions of safety measures which he/she thinks might have prevented a death, as after all a coroner is an educated person who learns a lot about causes of death in their work. But this particular coroner has not made a good suggestion in this instance, as providing a safety ring at every lock and regularly replacing them when stolen is surely not a cost-effective way to save lives. It sounds unlikely from the contents of the article that it would have made any difference in this case; a reckless drunk and his nephew who'd probably also had quite a few would not have been likely to benefit from the presence of a ring. People who can't handle booze regularly take all sorts of risks with their safety, and that's the real cause of death here. Before I gave up drinking, and before Daughter of X and Son of X were conceived, I'm sure I had a few dangerous moments under the influence e.g. crossing roads, but my luck held out and I didn't get a Darwin Award.

 

Even though I'm a poor swimmer I wouldn't want to be compelled to wear a life jacket whenever out on boats; I'd rather just rely on my common sense approach of always thinking what I'm doing when walking down gunnels or along a boat roof, climbing a lock ladder or whatever. That plus the knowledge that I could stand up in most places on the canals if I did fall in, and I'd be sober and probably strong enough to haul myself out onto the towpath or be helped out. On a river I'm even more careful, and would consider wearing a life jacket.

[blackrose]

This story reminds me what happened where I moor a couple of years ago. A bloke and his dad got completely pissed in their plastic cruiser moored in the basin. The son fell asleep in the cabin and then the dad fell off the back of the boat into the water and couldn't get out. He shouted for help but his son was out for the count. The only reason he didn't die was because it was summer and someone else on another boat happened to hear the shouting. I was actually in the nearest occupied boat but I was asleep and missed the whole thing!

 

Every time we hear of bodies found in the water there's usually alcohol involved. There are another couple of pissheads on boats who've recently moved here and both have fallen in when drunk and got out, but they still regularly come home drunk. I guess alcoholism and boats is another bad combination but it's quite common.

Edited February 28, 2016 by blackrose

[Mike Tee]

The coroners comment 'alcohol and boats are a dangerous combination' - alcohol (in vast quantities) and anything is a dangerous combination - sewing machines, cooking, sex, crossing the road, virtually anything.

Sad accident but totally self-inflicted.

[Athy]

The coroners comment 'alcohol and boats are a dangerous combination' - alcohol (in vast quantities) and anything is a dangerous combination - sewing machines, cooking, sex, crossing the road, virtually anything.

 

???

As in, if you see three, aim for the middle one?

[Mike Tee]

???

As in, if you see three, aim for the middle one?

 

As in, with a boat name like yours, the potential for a long lasting accident is obvious - health wise as well as population (can't do smileys on an iPad!!!!)

[Athy]

As in, with a boat name like yours, the potential for a long lasting accident is obvious - health wise as well as population (can't do smileys on an iPad!!!!)

Very good. I think you're referring to a brand of condoms sold in America. Our boat is not named after these - its origin is a mixture of continuing the classical names used on Chance & Hunt boats (on which our boat's livery is based) and the name of a company for which I have done a lot of work over the years.

That said, when this company tried to set up a U.S. branch in the 1970s, it failed, allegedly because Americans couldn't take the name seriously.

[Captain Pegg]

 

I believe life rings are compulsory on hire craft and here are two hire boats with them ready to rescue anyone drinking too much in the pub. In my experience life jackets are compulsory for children but optional for adults.

 

It's right for the coroner to consider the implications of falling in beyond just the particular circumstances of the incident concerned and any accident investigation would do the same. As Dave P and others point out though the canal being linear it would be impractical to provide life rings as a general measure.

 

For boaters life jackets would be far more effective. One distinct advantage of a life jacket is that it is effective if the wearer is unconscious.

 

There are accounts on here and on member's blogs of falling in and it seems it's common that getting out is harder than expected.

 

JP

[cuthound]

Life ring on every boat, kinda makes sense. Not sure if its a requirement for hireboats? But locks have ladders, there is still a reasonable chance of getting out if you fell in. The main danger would be the boat hitting or squashing you etc. Life ring not much help there. Being coherent in the first place helps a lot though.

Thought it was part of the BSS to have a life ring or line?

 

I have just changed my life ring for a Balcan Bell to save space.

 

http://www.balcan.co.uk/balcan-emergency-life-line/

 

Edited for autocorrect induced mistooks.

Edited February 28, 2016 by cuthound

[Rob-M]

Thought it was part of the BSS to have a life ring or line?

 

I have just changed my life ring for a Balcan Bell to save space.

 

http://www.balcan.co.uk/balcan-emergency-life-line/

 

Edited for autocorrect induced mistooks.

I might consider swapping to one or two of those as I find the life ring is often in the way where as I could mount a Balcan Bell by the doors.

Edited February 28, 2016 by Rob-M

[Chewbacka]

I might consider swapping to one or two of those as I find the life ring is often in the way where as I could mount a Balcan Bell by the doors.

If you read the report (link in the first post) the main problem was not lack of a life ring but that he could not get out of the water.

Had the boat had a means of getting back on board he would have been ok. The boat had no life ring or ladder or presumably gang plank to help him out onto the boat or the bank.

I don't see how C&RT can have any responsibility for this.