A raft of challenges on the channel
It’s a pity that the family, including young children, got into serious trouble a week or so ago on the river channel because of tying their floats together.
Thank heavens they at least were wearing life jackets, which it seems from my observations as I bike along the channel, that few people do.
There is a belief that more signs against tying floats together are needed, however, that is rather disingenuous. People have admitted that they had seen the one near the start cautioning against tying floats together, but “didn’t think much of it, as she’d gone down the channel in similar fashion before without incident.” Do they ignore that sign when they went down before? How many signs would it take, ‘I’ve seen since this accident with floats tied together,’ to take the warning seriously?! The authorities don’t waste time and money putting up danger signs for no reason.
More signs would just clutter up this rather lovely area and I doubt very much that they would make any significant difference to people’s behaviour (as one sees from the very few life jacket wearers). I can think of one sign, however, prominently displayed at the start, that just might make a few people stop and think: A PERSON DROWNED IN JULY 2017 BECAUSE HE AND HIS FRIENDS TIED THEIR RAFTS TOGETHER – DON’T!
If people still do so after that, well, as has been said before, there’s no pill against stupidity.
Eva Durance
Penticton