Quote:
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Originally Posted by Acres per Second;148226[B
Boston Globe:[/B]
“Tolerance is getting lower,’’ said John Fetterman, director for law enforcement for the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. “As the technology pushes these things faster and faster, there is a public demand for safety.’’
— http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...cus_on_safety/
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Your link didn’t work (for me anyway).
In all fairness APS that article was more about alcohol being a problem that boat speed.
The is the statement that really tells it all:
“Coast Guard officials say that alcohol remains the leading contributing factor to boating fatalities.”
Here is more of that article (can't seem to link to it):
In a state historically known for resistance to regulation, New Hampshire legislators turned heads this month when they voted to impose speed limits on the state’s biggest lake, Lake Winnipesaukee. Now, boaters will be restricted to traveling no faster than 45 miles per hour by day and 30 miles per hour at night.
The move comes after a number of highly publicized boating fatalities — including a 2008 case in which Erica Blizzard, a well-known New Hampshire marina operator, was found guilty of negligent homicide for an accident on Lake Winnipesaukee that killed her best friend. Her blood alcohol level had been nearly twice the legal limit, though the jury deadlocked on two alcohol-related counts.
In the aftermath of the tragedies, public calls have gone out across the region for greater safety on waterways, where boats whiz along at higher and higher speeds and drunken boating increasingly is viewed as a scourge and not a summer rite.
“Tolerance is getting lower,’’ said John Fetterman, director for law enforcement for the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. “As the technology pushes these things faster and faster, there is a public demand for safety.’’
Nationally, recreational boating fatalities have decreased since the 1980s. But boating fatality figures still hover in the double digits in a number of states, including Massachusetts, where there were 10 boating fatalities last year, 13 the year before, and at least six this year, according to fig ures from the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Coast Guard officials say that alcohol remains the leading contributing factor to boating fatalities.
Now, many say the time has come to further lower the numbers.
Law enforcement has responded with aggressive patrols despite dwindling budgets. This summer, law enforcement officials across the region will participate in Operation Dry Water, a national effort to increase checkpoints for drunk boat captains and educate boaters about the dangers of drinking and boating.
A challenge to reining in drinking and boating lies in the ubiquity of the practice. While a captain may not pilot a boat and drink alcohol, alcohol is allowed on boats — with some exceptions, such as in state parks in Massachusetts.
Also, excessive use can be difficult to detect on the water, where some traditional field sobriety tests — like walking in a straight line — are unusable, officials say.
Increasingly new methods are being employed, including a protocol being released this year by NASBLA that focuses on hand coordination and eye movement.
More difficult to break is the cultural acceptance of drinking and boating.
“Unlike driving, which people see as a means of getting from point A to point B, boating is very much a recreational activity,’’ said Captain Chris Baker of the Massachusetts Environmental Police, which patrols the state’s waterways.