Many of the rules we follow are based upon sound reason. Sometimes a rule is put in place after tragedy strikes in an effort to make sure it never happens again.
It is impossible to personally experience and learn from every accident scenario so we must rely on others to come up with guidelines for us to follow.
This is why we are required to carry a pfd for everyone on board. This is why we carry fire extinguishers.
Rest assured though, even when all the rules are followed, there are still plenty of dumb things you can do to potentially maim or kill your friends and family, or complete strangers.
The url below is for the Washington boating rules on the State Parks web site.
http://parks.state.wa.us/435/Boating
