renewed calls for pwc safey

[ziggy]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/1...-recreational-boating-safety/?test=latestnews

any opinions on this from fellow iboaters?

while i now have a boat. i did pwc for 9 years. i didn't initially take a safety class, but before i was done i had become involved in us power squadron for 4 years. i felt i was mostly into boating (pwc) safety.

i do frequent our close local watering hole. there's many pwc on any given day. while i see some careless behavior from pwc. i don't find pwc any more likely to break the rules than boaters do. i also can't remember any pwc accidents locally. all of the bad accidents of the last few years have involved boats, not pwc...

i guess i feel that the rules that are in place are good enough and don't see the need for further regulation.

fwiw, while i don't frequent faux news. i recently have bookmarked it so i can get a better feel for the (propaganda of the) other side.
i find it kinda odd imho that the faux folks would want more rules.

 

[Maclin]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safey

Rules are just on paper. They may have some punitive bite to them but only if there are enough LEO's and court staff to take on the patrolling burden. More rules only means more oppressive monitoring by underfunded agencies, and eventually taxes have to go up to fund it, especially if the new law has some kind of mandate that it be followed or the agency itself loses out somehow.

People are doing this to each other, sometimes in just total ignorance of the dynamics while in the water. Cars have tires that can grip insanely nowadays, no such thing in water, but how do you teach that? Cars are getting better and better at cornering, and the current generation of younger drivers have no idea how much "worse" it could be as they take a 30mph corner at 60. This trickles out into the other areas of their life experiences and if PWC's are in that experience then "surely my brand new state of the art homma-momma PWC handling has improved like cars have" mindset takes over.

My younger brother is accomplished at motorcycle handling, and cars. He could handle a PWC very well also, doing all the tricks they can do. One day we had the kids out a ways on some anchored tubes and he was cutting around making waves and splashing them. He is a cautious type so nothing too crazy and we all trust him. But on this day the waves hit just right and the ski went 2-3 feet beyond his intentions and bumped one of the tubes pretty hard. No one fell off, and they were all laughing and having a good time from it, but his face changed. He came right back in, kind of somber. Took him a few minutes to settle in back onshore. I could tell something was wrong, I figured the ski had a problem. Finally he came over and said that Wow the ski moved too far in that maneuver and he was just sure he was going to clobber someone. Really bugged him for a while. You just never know what the fluid dynamics in play are out there.

Having typed all that in, I think there are enough rules everywhere, we just have to trust that at some point operators realize that rules are in place because someone has been hurt or killed in the past needlessly and to stay in the guidlines so THEIR life is not ruined by an extreme incident. I will counter that with "So, Maclin, how has that worked out for you so far?"

 

[JB]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safey

PWCs are not the problem. Nor are snomobiles, ATVs, boats or bikes.

If we allowed the same people who play with those toys to drive automobiles on the streets with the same sense of abandon and immortality we might lose an entire generation.

Parents who supply those toys without effective education and discipline murder the people their kids kill.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Its my thought as the HP and speed has increased so has the potential of accident's.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

I think you have to be a minimum age of 32 to operate one.

 

[KD4UPL]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safey

[QUOTE
i find it kinda odd imho that the faux folks would want more rules.[/QUOTE]

I don't mean to take this thread ridiculously off topic, but, since you brought it up. Just because Fox did a story about jet skis doesn't mean they "want more rules". It's a news story. They are supposed to report the facts in a non biased manner. That is what reporting is supposed to be about, not advancing an agenda. That's what's different about FOX and most of the other networks. The left bias of so many of them is so obvious in their reporting. That's why they are losing viewers like crazy.
I think this reporter did a fine job of stating the facts. That's what a news reporter should do. Not present a story in hopes of furthering their agenda of more rules.

By the way, I'm as conservative as they come and don't like gov. regulations. The thing about freedom is that yours stops where mine starts. I have seen way, way too many people on PWC invading my space and endangering my family with their reckless, stupid, ignorant behavior. I do think more strict regulation is needed.

 

[emoney]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safey

I saw this story this afternoon. How sad for this family, and the kid was riding a tube when he got hit. Senseless loss, really. I'm not sure where I stand on the whole "rules debate", but I do know this; in order to drive a motorcyle, I had to be first a licensed vehicle driver and secondly a licensed motorcycle driver. I just don't understand why the same doesn't apply to watercraft. If nothing else, a written test to drive a boat that came with a safety course wouldn't kill us and it might save a few from being killed. I've seen too many that cant drive a boat, let alone a jetski. As a "jet-boater", I'm constantly vigilant about distance because I know these things don't steer like a "normal boat' does, but I have 30 years of boat ownership under my belt. It's not just the kids either. I've been almost hit I don't know how many times in my sailboat from what looked to be experienced boaters that aren't familiar with the lack of manuverability in a sailboat and don't even get me started on "right-of-way". Anybody that has the cash can walk in and buy a boat/jetski/jetboat everyday of the week with nothing but a pat on the butt and a "have fun" salutation. Just seems like there should be something more.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

I think you have to be a minimum age of 32 to operate one.

Wouldn't have helped this time. The family friend that ran over Usher's stepson was 38 and the guy that killed two kids on Lake Lanier a few weeks ago was in his 40's and BUI. Unfortunately today way too many people leave their common sense on the dock or in the garage. And it's not always the young, older people do some hare-brained things on the water and on the roads. We don't need more laws and there is no way on Earth to get enough enforcement. I'll change my no new laws stance. In my opinion all watercraft operators should be licensed or be required to take a boating course simply to educate them about safety and rules of the road. My 2 cents.

 

[chris.j.marshall]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

I clicked the link and there was a Yamaha Waverunner add along the side of the story.

 

[Davem3]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

. In my opinion all watercraft operators should be licensed or be required to take a boating course simply to educate them about safety and rules of the road.

In Massachusetts, ANYONE under 18 MUST take the boating safety course (and pass) before going out on the water, 16 and above for PWC, 12 and above for all other vessels............my children and I all hold our licenses, period.

what we really need , in my humble opinion, is MORE LEO's. the ones we have do a incredible job, but with so many lakes, rivers and ocean here, they are stretched thin, badly............ they seriously need more people on the water and shores, and a REAL budget, not the shoestring carp they currently have.

P.S. when i went through the course, we all traded names, cell numbers and boat info with each other............ the people i worry about about is ANYONE who was not in that class.........................

 

[ShadowB]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

I live full time on Lake Gaston and although I'm not in favor of making a law for every thing I feel something needs to be done concerning training inexperienced jet ski riders. We have someone, usually a tourist, involved in a jet ski fatality every summer. This year was no different. It's ridiculous someone can climb on a jet ski and operate it with zero real training and no basic concept of rider safety. Fatalities are going to continue. But we all need to note it doesn't matter how experienced "you/we are", the other guy may not be. PS. I'm really surprised someone on a jet ski hasn't killed a kid swimming either.

http://www.vancnews.com/lake_gaston...cle_a7a84046-cb89-11e1-b41e-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[Davem3]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Darwinism requires that a certain percentage of the population will always be at the bottom of the common sense scale. Make all the rules you like, it won't change that reality. Those with little or no common sense will find someway to prove Dawin's theory. Sadly, they often take an innocent person with them.

i would be a lot happier if they just took themselves out, and left the rest of us alone, please????

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safey

Lake at our campground has banned PWC. No reported accidents since.
My thoughts are that a greater percentage of idiots and uneducated in safety ride PWC. Many good responsible ones though that suffer because of the others.

 

[smclear]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

what we really need , in my humble opinion, is MORE LEO's. the ones we have do a incredible job, but with so many lakes, rivers and ocean here, they are stretched thin, badly............ they seriously need more people on the water and shores, and a REAL budget, not the shoestring carp they currently have.
QUOTE]

I fully agree with your "humble opinion". I can really only speak to the lake I boat on. PWC's are no worse than any other type of vessel. There are a few reckless operators, but as a percentage, it's very low. The one thing we do have, is visible LEO's. It is very common to see 2 -3 officers every weekend and at least one every day throughout the week. There's even officers on jetskis.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

I've started to think of PWC's as more of an event or a sport that a watercraft. They are designed for a very high 'sport' factor with respect to speed, turning, etc. Their entire purposes is rooted in making them walk and talk with respect to their primary (as noted) design and they are not at all designed for any appreciable comfort, distance or transportation purposes.
So....most people riding them, ride them for this sport and resulting thrill purpose. So how to 'live and let live'...and separate this sport and its participants off from the rest of the lake so they can do their thing without affecting others?
Any ideas?
Now like Ziggy, I am surprised that Fox news presented this in relatively calm form given their general tabloid style of news and reporting generally mandated by their owner.....good ol' Aussy Entertainment mogul Rupert Murdock, publisher of all those fantastic tabloid gossip...ahh, err...news magazines.
My two bits.
BP

 

[levittownnick]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

I think you have to be a minimum age of 32 to operate one.

Raise the minimum age to 75 and wrap everyone in bubble wrap. Also we need more government regulations to protect us, just refer to President Ronald Regan. Just think, if everyone were in a coma, there would be no accidents.

 

[robert graham]

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

Re: renewed calls for pwc safe

A 130HP PWC + a dose of testosterone + a beer or 2 = formula for disaster!....I'm glad they didn't have PWC when I was a kid, or I'd probably already be at the bottom of some lake!