This paper discusses issues relating to the practical application of the collision avoidance regulations (COLREGS) from the sociological viewpoint that rules are always contingent, defeasible and that no rule can exhaustively specify the conditions of its use. It is proposed that, due to the inherent nature of rules, the only way successfully to manage collision risks at sea, is physically to separate opposing traffic flows, so as to remove the interpretative and mutually co-ordinating factors from the COLREGS.