[upthesaukee]

Please see the following email sent to the legislation's author Represtative James Pilliod MD from Belmont, with carbon copies to the other legislators representing Alton. I also forwarded this to Representative Currier, vice-chairman of the committee conducting the hearing urging that the legislation not be passed.

I hope others will take the time to contact the committee if they can not attend the hearing, and also contact the legislators from your area.

Dear Representative Pilliod:

As an avid boater and full time resident of the Lakes Region (Alton Bay), I feel compelled to write to you as the bill's sponsor, with carbon copies to the other Representatives and the Senator for my town.

There is no question that Lake Winnipesaukee can get crowded in the summertime. There is also no question that there are some boaters who will drive their boats too fast for conditions.

My concern is that you are proposing legislation establishing a speed limit that will be next to impossible to enforce. In the vehicular world, we have radar equipped police cars with officers trained in the use of the radar equipment. We also have unmarked police cars that can blend into the flow of traffic and "clock" a speeding automobile.

My boat on its best day is capable of reaching near the forty mile per hour speed mark. I normally cruise somewhere between twenty-five and thirty miles per hour. What I do not find is that I am constantly being "blown out of the water" by boats operating at a high rate of speed. What I do find is other boats that do not adhere to established regulations, most notably the "150 foot" rule.

A new regulation is not what is needed on Lake Winnipesaukee, especially one that is virtually unenforceable. What is needed is more education and more enforcement of existing regulations.

What I find very disappointing is that you are not sponsoring any companion legislation that would allow the Department of Safety's Marine Patrol additional funds for the purchase of radar guns (several hundred dollars each, I'm sure), additional funds for the training of Marine Patrol officers in the use of the radar guns, and additional funds for additional personnel to enforce this legislation.

New Hampshire's money can be better spent by increasing boater education and the ability for the Marine Patrol to better enforce the regulations that are already on the books.

In a nutshell: EDUCATE, not regulate.

Representative Pilliod, I urge you to withdraw your legislation.

To Representatives Boyce, Allen, Clark, Millham, Thomas, and Whalley: I urge you to vote "No" if this bill makes it out of committee and onto the floor.

To Senator Boyce: I urge you to contact Representative Pilliod, asking him to withdraw the legislation and to contact the other Representatives from Alton to vote "No" if this bill makes it to the floor.

To all addresses, I thank you for your time and your consideration.


Signed electronically


David M. Cumming

Thanks to Island Girl for the good links to the NH Legislative sites. Just Sold, looks like we are on about the same page here regarding contacting your legislators. If we just sit hear on the forum and gripe, those making the decisions will not know our opinion. Pro or con, contact them before the hearing!!!!!!