The past is a pretty different place. These hundreds of passengers died when they couldn't swim the twenty feet to the shore. It makes you question why they wanted to have their party on a boat.
Many of them were young children. Most of them were trapped below decks because the ship rolled over so quickly.
> It makes you question why they wanted to have their party on a boat.
Victim blaming here is not just disrespectful and mean but also factually wrong.
I’m not following this. Seems like a lot of people were trapped below decks, and a lot more were stuck in what amounts to a mosh pit in water while trying to look after vulnerable loved ones, which is a great way for even strong swimmers to drown in a hurry.
In fresh water, which is far less buoyant than salty ocean water.
I mean, should I be required to be able to flap my arms and fly to hop on an airliner?
The strange part is that they wanted to be there. If you can't swim, this is a self-evidently bad idea. People are still afraid of boats, just as people are afraid of airplanes. Those people are correct -- occupying a vehicle whose failure will instantly kill you is something you should be frightened of.
But since you mention requirements, I'll note that my parents would not allow me on a boat -- any boat -- before I could swim. Unlike the ability to fly, the ability to swim is not all that difficult to learn. And while it won't save you if you get dumped into the middle of the sea, it will save you if you get dumped twenty feet from shore.
But it's not obvious to me that large boats should particularly be avoided if you have otherwise never learned to swim for whatever reasons. And it's not clear that being able to swim would necessarily save many of the people who have died in major ferry, etc. accidents.
The ability to get off the ship and into the water seems like the trickiest bit to me, particularly if you're below deck sleeping when the accident occurs. Once you're in the water, I think the temperature of the water is likely the biggest factor. If the water is cold then you likely have minutes to survive no matter how strong a swimmer you are. If the water is warm, people could float for days before succumbing to the elements. The USS Indianapolis survivors were in the water for four days and were in pretty bad shape, but I think in the modern era a more timely rescue is likely.
[edit] more to the point, do you believe crowd-crush deaths occur because those crushed foolishly never learned to walk?
Except it's not really. You'd generally trust these things to be safe and in reality they kind of are. Now much more than then, but even back then the risk was low enough for most people to take, I assume.
The same thing (albeit with a lower risk) is true of planes today.