Assuming that someone sees you -- isn't a good idea
- Thread starter SG
- Start date
While I fully believe in the use of safety equipment such as horns, lights, radar, etc. It doesn't appear, in this case, any of that would have made a difference. If the fishermen had access to a ship's horn, they neither had an opportunity to assess the situation and conclude that a horn could be used nor, I think, would the driver have realised what an emergency blast on a horn meant and that he should turn, stop or even lookup before he hit the victims.
Rule number one should always be, don't hit anyone, you are responsible for where you go. I can't believe those fishermen could have possibly believed that boat was going to run into them until it was too late to do anything but jump.
I wouldn't want to be the victims but even worse is the possibility of being that 75 year old driver. How horrible that must feel.
I live on a remote rural road about 2 miles out of town. I pulled out of my driveway one evening. It was dark and sleet was covering the roads and my windshield. I was in a hurry so I pushed it a little harder than I should have. 4 wheel drive is a must. Another truck was coming towards me with his lights in my eyes. I took my foot of the gas and stayed to the right. All I could see was the glare of truck lights glaring across my sleet coated windshield. I coasted past the truck at about 35mph. Fast for my road. As soon as the truck passed, I could see again and right in front of me were three teenagers walking shoulder to shoulder across my lane of the road with their backs to me.
IT WAS FRIGGIN' NIGHT, FREEZING RAIN AND NO STREET LIGHTS and I was about to plow down three kids walking with their backs to traffic.
I swerved, zipped past them in the opposite lane as they turned to look in my direction. All I could think about was how bad I would feel of I'd killed one or all of them.
After that, I hoped I'd come close enough, fast enough, to give them a clue that walking in the middle of a road at night when there was no traction was not a good idea.
OMG
- Will (Dragonfly)
Rule number one should always be, don't hit anyone, you are responsible for where you go. I can't believe those fishermen could have possibly believed that boat was going to run into them until it was too late to do anything but jump.
I wouldn't want to be the victims but even worse is the possibility of being that 75 year old driver. How horrible that must feel.
I live on a remote rural road about 2 miles out of town. I pulled out of my driveway one evening. It was dark and sleet was covering the roads and my windshield. I was in a hurry so I pushed it a little harder than I should have. 4 wheel drive is a must. Another truck was coming towards me with his lights in my eyes. I took my foot of the gas and stayed to the right. All I could see was the glare of truck lights glaring across my sleet coated windshield. I coasted past the truck at about 35mph. Fast for my road. As soon as the truck passed, I could see again and right in front of me were three teenagers walking shoulder to shoulder across my lane of the road with their backs to me.
IT WAS FRIGGIN' NIGHT, FREEZING RAIN AND NO STREET LIGHTS and I was about to plow down three kids walking with their backs to traffic.
I swerved, zipped past them in the opposite lane as they turned to look in my direction. All I could think about was how bad I would feel of I'd killed one or all of them.
After that, I hoped I'd come close enough, fast enough, to give them a clue that walking in the middle of a road at night when there was no traction was not a good idea.
OMG
- Will (Dragonfly)
It was 9 second from the first "hey!" to impact. Plenty of time for a horn. Maybe they would not have heard it. No way to know but it would have been better than yelling. Also, how would they see a strobe in the daytime if they could not see the boat?
The video looks to me like the first "hey" was at about 0:02, and the impact was at 0:08, so no more than 6 seconds for a horn to be effective. Subtract from that the time it would take for the boat to turn in response to an input, and there probably wasn't time to get a fifth horn blast out before it was too late. And that's assuming the driver heard it and knew how to react very quickly.
I think there are plenty of times when quick access to a horn would be helpful, but I think in this case thinking clearly enough to jump out the right side was the best call.
I think there are plenty of times when quick access to a horn would be helpful, but I think in this case thinking clearly enough to jump out the right side was the best call.
Did someone say they were trolling? Or was that the newspaper article?
I would have thought that if the engine was running, someone would have grabbed the helm and moved, but 6 seconds is not long.
And if they were underway, they need a lookout as well, and I'm not sure that what I saw qualifies.
Edit: I went back and watched the video several times, and I don't believe they were underway. The smaller outboard seems to swivel back and forth with changes in the weight distribution of the boat. I would think that would not happen with some way on, but I'm not an outboard guy.
I would have thought that if the engine was running, someone would have grabbed the helm and moved, but 6 seconds is not long.
And if they were underway, they need a lookout as well, and I'm not sure that what I saw qualifies.
Edit: I went back and watched the video several times, and I don't believe they were underway. The smaller outboard seems to swivel back and forth with changes in the weight distribution of the boat. I would think that would not happen with some way on, but I'm not an outboard guy.
Last edited:
Newspaper article. Goes to show how our reaction time slows down as we age and how good "hind sight" is.
Last edited:
I can feel the panic of the fishing boat crew. I had about the same amount of time to avoid a fishing boat in the fog, but I was in motion and able to turn to port away from the danger. A horn might have helped, but you need to have it ready and near you. The response to bail out was the correct solution to a complex and dynamic set of events. It is more common that folks freeze like deer in headlights.
In what time period? The guy in the powerboat was at fault.Clearly- in violation of several rules of the road- they should stick it to him
Many powerboats have miserable visibility when speed picks up. Many mid-sized to larger Searays, for example, can't see objects close to the water surface 15-25 yards directly in front of the boat when they are on plane. This is especially the case if someone sits at the helm seat, instead of standing-up. THAT's no excuse. (In this case the, "driver" of the big boat that hit them had plenty of time if he was looking.) The helm position is too low, the bow area forward is too long, it's just not designed properly.
Even small power boats (dual consoles) have visibility issues when powering forward at under planing speeds or momentarily when going forward to get "on plane".
Even small power boats (dual consoles) have visibility issues when powering forward at under planing speeds or momentarily when going forward to get "on plane".
Part of the issue has to be around the driver's choice to proceed, knowing he can't see. I get in my car, start the engine and look up to realize ice and snow are covering my windshield. I don't say, "what a horrible day." and start driving, no, I get out and clean my windows off. The time I nearly mowed down the kids in the road, I couldn't see what I was sure was a clear road past the oncoming truck and his headlights. Usually, I just stop and let the vehicle go by when that happens, but this time, I was in a rush and things moved fast. If I'd hit those kids, I would have been partly at fault for going when I knew I couldn't see. I thought, on my rural road with so little traffic, that the chances were miniscule that I'd have a problem.
Presumably, the driver had driven that boat before and knew it's attributes. He knew he was in a busy waterway. He knew fishermen sometimes troll, drift or anchor along the channel. To say, "I couldn't see over the bow" is not any excuse. That just shows an even larger disregard for the welfare of others.
I don't know what was going on with him. 75 years old is not, too old in itself, but he was impaired by something. His health, his mental state, a chemical, who knows. It was tragic and I feel bad for him.
That doesn't mean he shouldn't have consequences. It just means that, if it were I? I would be suffering already, just like I constantly think about those kids I managed not to hit.
Many modern powerboat have a reverse sheer and dropped bow for just that reason, to give better visibility when driving up to and on a plane. However, to not have those features can't be seen a equipment failure.
The regs require that you do everything you can to keep a proper watch and that should include not operating if to do so would be to move blindly.
- Will (Dragonfly)