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Originally Posted by VtSteve
I saw a deer get hit tonight on the interstate. There should be a speed limit on these roads.
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Better yet, we should have a "safe passage" law on the roads too...since that works so well on the lake.
Then the driver would have slowed to 6MPH when he got within 150FT of the deer and probably would have then been able to avoid it. As stupid as this sounds, this the the very logic that your group uses to claim the 150' rule is the cure to all of our troubles. Boaters going 70MPH leave themselves too few microseconds to react to the unforeseen within that 150' "safety zone". It's a good distance at 45 MPH. It's way to small at 70-100MPH.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VtSteve
Safety lanyards are a great thing to have on, and they usually prevent the boat from turning in a circle and hitting ejected occupants.
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I can't say my biggest concern is the ejected occupants. I worry more about the innocent bystanders in the debris path ("debris" including the carcasses of the ejected of course). They did not choose to be involved with this as the ejected passengers did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VtSteve
Four people died early in the season on Lake Winnipesaukee when they drowned after being thrown from small boats into cold water. The tremendous increase in deaths on Lake Winnipesaukee has caused many to wonder if small boats should be allowed on such a large, cold lake.
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As SL supporters admit so so often, of course a Speed Limit is not going to prevent all boating deaths, all accidents, or all boneheads from taking the helm...but it is one obvious step in the right direction, and a sensible part of a package of safety laws that make the lake safer for the rest of us.
These idiots were in too-small boats that were swamped by waves...not in a boat that rolled because it was going way too fast while trying to turn or when it hit a wave. They obviously put themselves in great danger by taking to the lake in such tiny boats. But did they put any of the other more cautious boaters on the lake that day involuntarily into harm's way because of their stupidity? Did they put nearby boaters in danger that they would be killed by their speeding boat or flying debris? People who kill themselves by their stupid decisions might deserve what they get. But those of us who chose a slower more careful lifestyle don't deserve to be put at risk because of some cowboy's "need for speed".