Boaters Inattention

[mmerriman]

MOST states in the US do not require boating education or licensing.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'll just throw this in for the heck of it. I think boating regulations and requirements for courses and licenses should be regulated as locally as possible. There are places with high volume boat traffic, divers, swimmers, etc. It is very necessary to know all the rules, rights of way, etc. We lived years in Northern Manitoba on one of the hundreds of thousands of northern lakes where you MAY see one other boat all day in the huge expanses. No regulations needed at all here, but eventually Canada brought in a nation wide requirement for a license. Hey we weren't in Toronto Harbour, but still needed to pay $50 for the course, even if you knew exactly what you were doing. I'm sure there are many places that fall somewhere in between these extremes where SOME regulation is needed. Our situation was kind of like having to wear a motorcycle helmet when you are on a gravel road and may pass 2 cars every 100 miles.

 

[farsidefan1]

Got boat, got keys, get outa my way is the rule in Utah as well. I remember once while fishing with my brother in San Diego bay when I reallized California probably doesn't have manditory training as well. We were anchored in his 18 foooter and a BIG pleasure boat was coming right at us. We realized nobody was paying any attention to where they were going so I grabbed the anchor and my brother fired up the engines. We probably had about 2 feet of clearance. Nearly got swamped. Other than that it was a pretty great day.

 

[Dewit2it]

My latest jetski problem got solved by the Coast Guard!

I was running with an innertube and 36" mast with a 15x18 flag in Sturgeon Bay. The Coast Guard saw it and stood watch, and busted 2 jetskiers making runs past the flag.

There are a few local police water patrols that will do the same thing on various lakes.

THANKS LE!!!!!

 

[mikecotrone]

Got boat, got keys, get outa my way is the rule in Utah as well. I remember once while fishing with my brother in San Diego bay when I reallized California probably doesn't have manditory training as well. We were anchored in his 18 foooter and a BIG pleasure boat was coming right at us. We realized nobody was paying any attention to where they were going so I grabbed the anchor and my brother fired up the engines. We probably had about 2 feet of clearance. Nearly got swamped. Other than that it was a pretty great day.

Thats why I keep a flare gun in the glove compartment of my boat since a quick shot past the Helm usually wakes them up to your position

 

[deltamike1]

In North Carolina they are just now starting to put laws into effect for boat drivers. The biggest one being that if you are under a certain age you have to go through some type of approved tranning befor getting onto the water. Of course this is a day late and a dollar short.

 

[R8]

Wow that's scary, In NJ I had to take a 8hour coast Guard classin order to drive my PWC, I have to have a state boat license on me and the coast guard one, if u get stopped without your are in deep trouble.
That was 5 or 6 years ago and at that time they were trying to make it mandatory for all vessels I hope they did..

If I'm out there and someones coming right for me I won't shoot the flare past the helm, from now on I'm looking to burn your boat down with it...

 

[seaducer]

They did pass the law that all boat drivers need to take and pass a boater safety course in NJ. What good that actually does I am not sure of, since drivers of road vehicles are ignorant of most laws, or just don't care, I fail to see how boat operators will be much different after the class as opposed to prior.

It would be great if a cheap motion sensor could be mounted on the flag that would trigger a strobe, siren and camera, that way boaters would have no choice but to notice they violated the zone, and then a hefty 4 figure fine could be sent to the registered owner. THEN suddenly people would stop using dive flags as slalom poles.

As it stands now the odds of any negative action resulting from violating the dive flag laws are small enough that no one cares.

But I will also say that divers who do not follow the regulations are just as bad, since they give boaters a reason to complain and feel as though they are justified in ignoring the rules.

 

[mikecotrone]

They did pass the law that all boat drivers need to take and pass a boater safety course in NJ. What good that actually does I am not sure of, since drivers of road vehicles are ignorant of most laws, or just don't care, I fail to see how boat operators will be much different after the class as opposed to prior.

It would be great if a cheap motion sensor could be mounted on the flag that would trigger a strobe, siren and camera, that way boaters would have no choice but to notice they violated the zone, and then a hefty 4 figure fine could be sent to the registered owner. THEN suddenly people would stop using dive flags as slalom poles.

As it stands now the odds of any negative action resulting from violating the dive flag laws are small enough that no one cares.

But I will also say that divers who do not follow the regulations are just as bad, since they give boaters a reason to complain and feel as though they are justified in ignoring the rules.

I totally agree Drew. I am glad that NJ is following Suit. Virginia has been rolling this same program out for the last 3 years. They have phased it in based on age range which it also includes pesky weekend Jetski renters

 

[Ana]

Thankfully here in florida you need to have a licenses (in a manner of speaking) but it's still sad that most boaters dont respect or even know what a diver flag is. Fish and game is not kind to boaters that violate the laws but having them catch offenders is 1 in a million chance.

We as divers have to be extra carefull when it comes to boat traffic.

Florida requires a license? is this something new?

I have a boat in Florida, legally registered and insured, no license was ever required of me. The boating education I have was my choice to get.
I was hoping at least the insurance companies would be able to motivate people to educate themselves by giving some discounts after taking boating education classes, but that was naive of me.

Divers should not only be aware of boat traffic in Florida while surfacing, they should start worrying about who is going to be operating the boat before they jump in the water. Typically, well established dive operators are used to deal with the boat traffic, but when it comes to private boat owners there is no telling. Just like there are clueless divers that use charter boats, there are clueless divers that use their own boat.

It is easy to underestimate the responsibility of the person behind the helm on the typical drift dives of S. Florida. You need someone that will be very attentive not only to your flag but to the traffic around it, someone that can predict the heading of incoming boats and effectively position the boat between your flag and traffic to keep you protected at all times.

We can wish and hope for education and enforcement all we want, but meanwhile active measurements against boat traffic is as important as gas management.