SeaJay
Contributor
A boater's license should be mandatory. IMHO, it should be an endorsement on your driver's license, not unlike what they do for motorcycles.
With motorcycles, in order to get your endorsement, you either have to pass the driving course the first time (not likely) or you have to take an MSF course... A heavy course that teaches you how to stay alive on two wheels. I'm a big supporter of the MSF standards.
IMHO, there should be an identical agency for boating... And getting your boating license should include a similar heavy course designed to keep the boaters from causing too many accidents.
Finally, I believe that a boat is a motor vehicle, and that operating it while under the influence should be looked at identically. Sure, it's illegal here and in many places to operate a boat while intoxicated... But the enforcement of this law is pretty lax on the water. You can't drive a car with an open container of beer in it... Why is it that so many people associate beer and boats together? Why is it okay to drink on a boat?
Just seems like a really volitile concoction to me. Stupid!
With motorcycles, in order to get your endorsement, you either have to pass the driving course the first time (not likely) or you have to take an MSF course... A heavy course that teaches you how to stay alive on two wheels. I'm a big supporter of the MSF standards.
IMHO, there should be an identical agency for boating... And getting your boating license should include a similar heavy course designed to keep the boaters from causing too many accidents.
Finally, I believe that a boat is a motor vehicle, and that operating it while under the influence should be looked at identically. Sure, it's illegal here and in many places to operate a boat while intoxicated... But the enforcement of this law is pretty lax on the water. You can't drive a car with an open container of beer in it... Why is it that so many people associate beer and boats together? Why is it okay to drink on a boat?
Just seems like a really volitile concoction to me. Stupid!