Diver hit by boat - New York

[DandyDon]

Scuba Diver Hit by Passing Boat - YNN, Your News Now

A scuba diver was hit by a boat on Canandaigua Lake Sunday afternoon.Police say Frank Porter, 63, was diving twenty yards off the shore when a Pontoon boat hit him near the surface.
The driver of the boat helped Porter get to shore, where he was taken to FF Thompson Hospital for a broken right arm.
Police say Porter will be issued a citation for failing to display the proper marker for a scuba diver.

 

[CT-Rich]

Well that makes me feel better about dragging the GD flag all over the place.... Bummer to have a broken arm and then get a summons.... kind of a double whammy.

 

[irishsquid]

Well that makes me feel better about dragging the GD flag all over the place.... Bummer to have a broken arm and then get a summons.... kind of a double whammy.

Too bad the enforcement for wreckless boating/jet-skiing isn't enforced as often as should be. Quite a few divers don't tug along a flag because it just becomes a curiosity/target for said yahoos.

 

[divad]

Too bad the enforcement for wreckless boating/jet-skiing isn't enforced as often as should be. Quite a few divers don't tug along a flag because it just becomes a curiosity/target for said yahoos.

Maybe someone should design a dive flag with a proximity sensor and a CO2 powered dye-marker.

 

[BoneCrusher]

Maybe someone should design a dive flag with a proximity sensor and a CO2 powered dye-marker.

I would much rather prefer a proximity sensor and 50 cal. Get to close, sink the boat!

 

[AfterDark]

FTF! I had a dive flag sewn onto my SMB by a cobbler. I keep it rolled up until I need to surface, then it's deployed; viola dive flag!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Too bad the enforcement for wreckless boating/jet-skiing isn't enforced as often as should be. Quite a few divers don't tug along a flag because it just becomes a curiosity/target for said yahoos.

I can say with 100% confidence that that is why I no longer anchor a dive flag at my primary dive site. I have seen boats get within 10-15 feet of it and jetskiers MUCH closer. The dive flag is a danger in some places since education is lacking (very little on the boaters exam about diving) around here and because some people seem to just not care.

Having said that.....if I am in an area that requires a diver to dive with a flag, I do. I do not assume that means I am safe to surface though. I will still get as close to shore as possible before surfacing.

 

[ScubaFanFL]

A little off topic. "..Police say Porter will be issued a citation for failing to display the proper marker for a scuba diver." just curious, what if he doesn't pay his citation? Can they suspend his C card?

 

[lindenbruce]

Is what happens in most of those cases they will suspend his driver's license or vehicle registration until he pays the citation fine. Bruce

 

[ccx2]

I'm glad the diver didn't get himself killed.
I have a related kind of question that I hope this isn't the wrong place/time to ask.
Yesterday I was fishing one of the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel here in Va and a boat was easing along the edge of the rock island and using his boat to protect a Snorkler that was between the boat and the rocks, the boat was displaying the dive flag on a VHF antenna but was underway keeping up with the snorkeler and also had a person casting /fishing on the bow and stern.
How should I have interpreted this by law or regulation?