life jackets to be compulsory for children 16 and under in the UK. Mimicking Irish Law
life jackets to be compulsory for children 16 and under in the UK. Mimicking Irish Law
The Issue
In August 2019 my 6 year old family member Lucas George Dobson lost his life whilst jumping off a boat onto a Privately owned jetty on the River Stour in Sandwich, Kent.
Sadly he wasn’t wearing a life jacket nor was there life saving aids available in the short space of time you have when someone goes under water equipped with a fast moving current...
As it stands there is no enforceable Law regarding the wearing of life jackets or having enough personal floatation devices (PFDs) on board per passenger on any privately owned vessel regardless of its size
Lessons have been cruelly learned and we are about to embark on a campaign we are calling Lucas Law to make this mandatory.
Research has taught us that Presently around 200 people in the UK lose their lives in rivers, coastal waters and playing in or near the waters edge and an annual marine report suggests that 87 of those life’s could of been saved if they were wearing a life jackets or PFD.
In May 2004 Ireland had a water safety drive and the outcome was that the wearing of life jackets were made compulsory on board any boat of seven metres or less. In addition to this It was also agreed that a life jacket/PFD is carried on board for each person irrespective of size and every child 16 years or under must wear a life jacket/PFD at all times while on deck when the craft is underway...
This is ready made by our Irish cousins for us to emulate. In addition to this Lucas’s Law would like to also make it compulsory for private jetty owners to be accountable and responsible for warning signs, safety barriers and to have life saving equipment accessible from the waters edge.
Lucas Law will campaign for these to be made law ASAP and to replicate Ireland, Australia, USA and Canada in doing so.
We strongly believe by doing so will change the mentality around water safety, just like the seat belt laws did when they were introduced for road safety.
It seems a no brainer to me and couldn’t believe this was not already an enforceable law in the UK so please sign our Petition so we can have a reputable and tangible enough cause for parliament to notice and for Lucas george Dobson’s name to make the history books
2,385
The Issue
In August 2019 my 6 year old family member Lucas George Dobson lost his life whilst jumping off a boat onto a Privately owned jetty on the River Stour in Sandwich, Kent.
Sadly he wasn’t wearing a life jacket nor was there life saving aids available in the short space of time you have when someone goes under water equipped with a fast moving current...
As it stands there is no enforceable Law regarding the wearing of life jackets or having enough personal floatation devices (PFDs) on board per passenger on any privately owned vessel regardless of its size
Lessons have been cruelly learned and we are about to embark on a campaign we are calling Lucas Law to make this mandatory.
Research has taught us that Presently around 200 people in the UK lose their lives in rivers, coastal waters and playing in or near the waters edge and an annual marine report suggests that 87 of those life’s could of been saved if they were wearing a life jackets or PFD.
In May 2004 Ireland had a water safety drive and the outcome was that the wearing of life jackets were made compulsory on board any boat of seven metres or less. In addition to this It was also agreed that a life jacket/PFD is carried on board for each person irrespective of size and every child 16 years or under must wear a life jacket/PFD at all times while on deck when the craft is underway...
This is ready made by our Irish cousins for us to emulate. In addition to this Lucas’s Law would like to also make it compulsory for private jetty owners to be accountable and responsible for warning signs, safety barriers and to have life saving equipment accessible from the waters edge.
Lucas Law will campaign for these to be made law ASAP and to replicate Ireland, Australia, USA and Canada in doing so.
We strongly believe by doing so will change the mentality around water safety, just like the seat belt laws did when they were introduced for road safety.
It seems a no brainer to me and couldn’t believe this was not already an enforceable law in the UK so please sign our Petition so we can have a reputable and tangible enough cause for parliament to notice and for Lucas george Dobson’s name to make the history books
2,385
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 22 November 2019