1. Licensing doesn't do anything to affect that behavioral characteristic. So I agree with you ... studying for a license is a waste of time if you won't behave appropriately even with a license.
2. So now that we have that settled, throw out licensing. It's just a bureaucratic waste of time and money, right?
1. We agree.
2. An illogical extension.
Look, licensing doesn't make people do the right thing. Cars are a perfect example. Every once in a while here one of our regular columnists does a piece on driving from the East Bay into The City over the Bay Bridge and wonders, as my wife does sometimes, "God made directional turn signals to be USED when changing lanes. Why don't more people use them?!?"
My beef is licensing boaters. Europe now has more rules than people!!! Driving a boat in the EU is a bureaucratic horror show. I read about these things daily on crusiersforum. It's simply crazy. And unnecessary.
The beginnings of that kind of mess are already here, with certain states having different rules for boating classes. Eventually it has the possibility of becoming a real mess. If I sail into your state with its laws with my boat from California, do I need to pass your state's boating class?
That's the kind of LOGICAL extension of stupid rules.
Instead of MORE stupid rules, why not simply ENFORCE the existing ones. Put that jacka$$ who ran into a restaurant (!!!) in jail, and tell all his overpowered over-testosterone buddies on notice, too.
A few years ago a CG RIB was harassing sail-boaters in the estuary here, where they bring in huge containerships. One motorboater was crossing in front of one of the ships and its tugs. The pilot on the ship called the CG RIB and said: "Hey, CG, stop bothering the boaters who are NOT in my way, and pull over the jerk who just went in front of my bow!"
Even the enforcement guys are pretty stupid.
Our local Alameda sheriff went out and bought a brand spankin' new patrol boat with all that wonderful Homeland Security money, and we were once pulled over, for no good reason other than it was a slow Monday afternoon, I guess, for them.
I ran into them a few months later as I was filling up with fuel. I asked them if they were out the day before for Fleet Week, notorious for its poor boating behavior by lots of skippers who only went out that one day of the year to see the Blue Angels. He said, "No, we don't have funding for fuel, but they had to let us go out one day a month to keep our certifications valid!"
How helpful.
You may also recall the kerfluffles in Michigan and Ohio a few years ago (maybe Florida, too) where LEOs (NOT the CG) were repeatedly pulling over the same skippers many times a day - pure harassment. It eventually took some local legislation to stop that nonsense.
I'd vote in a heartbeat for some new candidate for office whose motto is:
"My goal is to REDUCE the number of stupid laws, and to enforce the ones already on the books!"
