NYCkayaker PFD now called Lifejackets

[Erik Baard]

Someone at Coast Guard headquarters has been reading Orwell!

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm

Hooray!

I've resisted saying "PFD" for years because I prefer the raw Anglo-Saxon
directness of "life jacket" or "life vest."

Let's hope this little change spreads upward through the culture in
Washington, DC.  :)

Erik Baard


On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 2:14 PM, Andrew Laiosa <andrewnidc at yahoo.com> wrote:

> When I started paddling along time ago everyone used to call those things
> that keep you afloat, Lifejackets.  Then someone came along and came up with
> this slick and nifty acronym PFD for Personal Floatation Device (which
> probably added a few bucks to the cost to consumers).  PFD, it sounded like
> something from the space program.  Well, now we are back to calling them
> Lifejackets, although only in certain circumstances.   This article appeared
> in the latest American Canoe Association newsletter for instructors:
> USCG says "Lifejackets"
> It has been clarified by the USCG that the use of the term
> lifejackets is back and should be used when discussing the essential
> piece of equipment all paddlers should have and should wear.
>
> The only time the term / acronym PFD is being used is when discussing
> the types of lifejackets and/or regulation issues.
>
> It will be a challenge for many of use to change the terminology that
> we use, but to keep with the winds of change we thought you should
> know that the USCG will be using "lifejackets" for general terms
> and PFD for regulatory reference.
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Erik Baard

www.licboathouse.org
www.naturecalendar.com