I'd prefer to see the waters made safer by increased common sense and care, rather than more government regulation.
Life jackets and kill switches have been mentioned repeatedly. But moderation with respect to speed is also very important. We often see people going way too fast for the conditions/debris/traffic/etc. The probability of death and serious injury in boating accidents accident approximately doubles for every 10 mph increase in speed above 20 mph. An accident at 40 mph is 4 times more likely to result in death or permanent injury than an accident at 20 mph. Just because the boat can take the chop at 40 mph doesn't mean the chop won't prevent you from seeing debris in the water.
Stopping and turning distances are not linear with speed, they are quadratic. This means that the distance you need to avoid an incident is 9 times longer at 60 mph than at 20 mph. Even at 20 mph I ask the people closer to the front of the boat to keep an eye out for debris and alert me to any issues. I also often tool around at 5-8 mph in unfamiliar areas that may have stumps, shallow oyster beds, or pilings and in areas I know are prone to have lots of debris.
|