It would be cool if every transmission on VHF 16 automatically included the MMSI - no more fake maydays.

There are enough idiots out there who would set off an EPIRB when the ice maker broke down.

I recently talked with an EMT fireman. He told me they get calls for shaving cuts. I thought he was joking - he insists it's true. Americans are so coddled that they don't know an emergency from an inconvenience.

If EPIRBs were mandatory the price would double. Remember when they first came out. The price was very high up until the date certain vessels were required to carry them. Only then did the price start to come down. Nothing makes things more expensive than legal requirements.