Here we go!!

[sfgary]

Just heard on the local news(ABC) there is a bill before our state (CA) legislature
SB1162 that will require all boat owners to take and pass a boating safety course at which time you will be issued a card you will be required to carry while operating a water craft. I have been boating for more than fifty years and I am all about boating safety and have spent a lot more than the $30.00 this class costs I just hate to see more GOVT involvement in boating. I know there will be pros and cons on this but I love the insight this forum brings.

 

[Steve L22188]

If only there were a way....

....in that class to separate the stupid, irresponsible, idiotic boaters from the rest of us.

Maybe issue a green colored card for sailboaters and a red card for power boaters?:dance:

As for government intrusion, I'm constantly reminded of Mark Twain's quote:
"Just be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."

 

[philwsailz]

....in that class to separate the stupid, irresponsible, idiotic boaters from the rest of us. Maybe issue a green colored card for sailboaters and a red card for power boaters?:dance: As for government intrusion, I'm constantly reminded of Mark Twain's quote: "Just be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."

I am a powerboater... Careful...

At least I agree with the Mark Twain quote...

I am on the fence on this one. Bureaucracies are notoriously inefficient. I hate to think how much money will be blown in testing and enforcement.

I do agree with figuring out how to impose some proof of competency though. I am around too many first-time boaters who have no clue how dangerous their actions are. There is currently nothing in place today to prevent a first-time boat owner from going straight to the water and attempting to safely operate a vessel.

 

[Gunni]

You need to drill down on this thing to understand what the requirements may be. We have had safe boating laws around here for years and they are reported to have effectively reduced boating injuries - mostly by training up the young and newbie Mobos. Started with the jetski crowd. There are options for no-cost online exams, equivalency tests, national certs, and of course USCG certs. In Maryland us geezers got a bye.

 

[Tricia]

We have boater licensing up here. It's easy for someone to get someone else to take the test for them. Plus, a multiple choice test does nothing to encourage common sense. Has it improved things? Maybe. But there's still a lot of unsafe stuff going on on the water - usually at high speed.

 

[Steve Dion]

We see how well drivers licenses work for automobiles. 35,000 people died on highways last year. 750 died in boating accidents.

This has been debated before. I think that it will probably be for "young" operators under a specified age but they do tend to over regulate our lives.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

NJ has had this requirement for years. Like Gunni said, it started with the jetski crowd. However, we phased in the requirement for everybody. While I was 'grandfathered' fore a while, Sue and I had to take the course in 2009 to comply with the law. We get a certificate, which we are required to take to MVC and have the notation put on our driver's license. BTW, if you are operating a PWC in NJ, you have to have a separate certificate for PWC as well as the "safe boating" certificate. When I jump on my son's jetski, I have to watch out that the State Police aren't going to stop me.

Considering all of the extremely frightening things our government is already doing against our will and interests, this sort of thing just doesn't rise to any level of concern. The course will be taught by the CG Auxiliary and you have to spend a day in a classroom with a bunch of other boaters. No big deal.

 

[Jackdaw]

Anything that cuts down on the bozo factor is a good thing.

 

[Dunlookin]

I am absolutely for more government regulation. Those men and women with a 13% approval rating are simply misunderstood.

The five months it took me to get a permit to buy a gun legally in NJ made a lot of sense. I am comforted knowing the men and women behind the murders in my state have to follow the same rules and will be captured quickly and swiftly bought to justice. I understand that as a private citizen I should not be allowed to purchase a weapon with a bayonet lug. That simple safeguard has significantly reduced the number of innocent civilians killed by being bayonneted (SP) from "0" ten years ago to "0" today. You cannot argue with that kind of statistics.

Of course, there is a small price to pay for such safety. Each day I read the news just to find out how many new laws have been enacted so that I know which laws I am breaking on my way to work. I want to be able to tell the "law enforcement officer" who stops me that I was aware of that new law demanded by the parent of yet another child who did somethig incredibly stupid and now it is thier mission to make it illegal for me to do something I would never have dreamed of doing.

When I get to work on my motorcycle, another well-meaning robot will tell me how motorcycles should be outlawed because they are so dangerous. I'll be careful not to mention ANYTHING about gun ownership, religion, out-of-touch politicians, illegal immigration...oops...undocumented workers, the nanny state, federal entitlement, or any number of "hot-button" issues that wait, like a minefield, for the unwary to comment on.

My salvation is that my wife still enjoys....well, you know. My home remains my castle, and my boat waits for me.

For those few hours...the arrogance, and ignorance, of what government has become is muted.

Oh wait...I have to pay my property taxes today.

Crap!

 

[justsomeguy]

Dunlookin, we need a sarcasm font. Good post.

In some ways, we're defeating Darwinism.

 

[JoeWhite]

The insurance companies should be required to not provide coverage for those owners who do not have a minimum training. You can not drive off a car from a car lot unless you have insurance - why not the same for the boats.

 

[Dunlookin]

Sarcasm?

Moi!
-Miss Piggy

 

[Johnb]

Which state was it that required boaters to pass a test but exempted jet skis as a result of lobbying by the recreation industry?

 

[Scott T-Bird]

While the sarcasm is funny, it reminds me how scary it is that the truly subversive stuff our government does is ignored with apathy, indifference and ignorance; while we whine and cry if our own little self-interest is affected by a bit of inconvenience.

 

[Jim W.]

Boater Cards are mandatory here in Canada and were phased in several years ago. Yes, easy to get on line and yes you can even cheat and have someone write it for you. Some places would charge a fee for you to take the course and write the exam or 2x the fee for them to write it for you! Some of them have been caught and all of the cards they issued had to be re-written (at no charge) by everyone that obtained their card from these places. There is little government intrusion here, a simple process. I feel there are two main objectives: 1. Create awareness and maybe encourage people to seek further boating education and 2. The authorities have something they can take away from an unsafe boater, before the boaters card they had nothing to take away.

 

[woodster]

before the boaters card they had nothing to take away.

this reminded me of the government inspector inspecting the farmers spread after introducing himself and showing him his card..... and the bull got after the g man and he started yelling for help from the farmer ...the farmer said show the bull your card

 

[patrickfarley]

While the sarcasm is funny, it reminds me how scary it is that the truly subversive stuff our government does is ignored with apathy, indifference and ignorance; while we whine and cry if our own little self-interest is affected by a bit of inconvenience.

Makes me fear every new law.

 

[Joe]

While the sarcasm is funny, it reminds me how scary it is that the truly subversive stuff our government does is ignored with apathy, indifference and ignorance; while we whine and cry if our own little self-interest is affected by a bit of inconvenience.

Exactly........

 

[Meriachee]

The card in Canada is actively promoted at the boat shows by booths who offer that you don't have to pay if you don't pass, is aimed squarely at the general (unsuspecting) public and really doesn't bring very much to the party. Does this card, by it's nature make us safer? I don't think I even need to pose the question, we all know the answer.

This year we've seen a decline in the jet ski population which apparently has been replaced by the "party barge". Something new to dislike. My, we are becoming a cynical bunch, eh?

 

[Steve Dion]

We get a certificate, which we are required to take to MVC and have the notation put on our driver's license.

This will be real cute. I live in Nevada but boat in California. When I take my certificate to the Nevada DMV they are going to ask me what they should do with my newly earned cert!

What would someone from out of your state do?