Cut from an earlier post and modified with new information. This is my final thought and I thank Don for his patience. FYI. elchase sent me a heartfelt well written sincere apology. I replied in kind and would like to publicly apologize to him as well. In the end he showed himself to be a class act. Thanks.
So, I'm sitting here asking myself why the heck do I care? What is it to me? I've repeatedly said that this law does not personally affect me one way or the other. Yes, I happen to have some friends with Fast Boats. For the record I went for a ride on one of their boats once this summer. Personally I enjoyed the ride but after it was over I was like "yeah that was fun but what an impractical boat." This coming from a father of three who enjoys all the cabin space of his bowrider complete with bathroom, sink, and coolers. It all goes back to the sentiment "to each their own."
I really can't see myself ever owning that style of boat. It doesn't fit my lifestyle. I do happen to like looking at them and I appreciate the owners that are passionate about them. Just like some people who don't own motorcycles and never intend on buying one but just the same enjoy looking at them and appreciate the owners who are passionate about them. Of course then there are the haters. They are out there though. Those people who do not understand people's passions outside their own small world. These people seem to be gaining control over our society now. These are the people that want a law to ban anything THEY deem offensive. Everything in the world is offensive to them and they have zero tolerance for anything outside the scope of their narrow vision. Where do I fit in? Well I'm not a huge fan of really, really loud boats, bikes, stereos or cars. However, I can tolerate some noise, some bikes, boats, cars sound really sweet. A select few push the limit and ruin it for everyone. FYI, one of the loudest boats I heard this summer was an old wooden Chris-Craft. I appreciated that this boat has probably been on the lake longer than my entire extended family. Anyway, my feelings on that subject are that there are already laws on the books to address offensive behavior in terms of noise.
Initially I supported a Speed Limit. I swear to god I did. I searched the old threads, check it out a thread started by ME!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelnut
SPEED LIMIT (at night)?
Posted By: Hazelnut
Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 12:18 p.m.
In light of this recent night time tragedy in Meredith and the subsequent "Performance Boat" Bashing thread which was going nowhere. I decided to pose the question "What if the lake were to institute a mandatory night time speed limit?" I for one do not own a performance boat but I am a firm believer in the "It's the driver not the boat" point of view. I am also a realist. So if you've decided to post a response that states "It's too hard to enforce" I agree, to a point. By stating that you are effectively saying that we should wipe out all laws and have a free for all. The 150 foot law is pretty hard to enforce but I'm still glad it's the law. Does anyone have figures on boating fatalities involving collision during night time vs. day time hours? The last two I know of occurred at night. If all boats were required to travel at 30 MPH or less at night would this give boaters enough reaction time? Don't we all agree that visibility is limited substantially at night and that it is much safer for you and your passengers to travel at slower speeds? Believe me when I say that I would have never have thought that I would be suggesting a speed limit on the lake. I am not in favor of a daytime speed limit. But is it too much to ask that we travel slower at night? By the way what's the rush for, where are you going? Slow down breathe deep and enjoy yourselves. In no way am I suggesting that this would have prevented the crash but it begs the question. Besides it's a discussion forum so...... discuss. ?
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You will see that I actually raised the issue of having a Speed Limit on the lake SEVERAL years ago. Back then, when I raised the issue I was on the defensive and quite a few people were adamant about the fact that the lake didn't need a speed limit. Similar to today. So I dropped it. I really can't pinpoint when I changed my mind and I can't say if it was one particular issue or not. I think I just couldn't resolve the issue based on my ideology. I feel pretty strongly that laws should be put in place based on facts not emotion. Laws should directly address problems. So I read some, researched some, listened to both sides, listened to neighbors, talked with friends, and finally arrived at my position. I went from supporting the law, to not really caring, to getting really passionate about opposing the law. In the end I do not personally lose here.
So now the question at hand: I'm reading between the lines here but the question you might ask me is, if it doesn't inconvenience me, or any of us for that matter, why should we care.
For me it is a political matter. I have stated it several times in this thread. Maybe I expect too much from elected officials. Maybe I should just accept it and move on. Maybe we should all just accept any and all laws coming out of the statehouse. Again, I just can't do it. The beauty of the USA is that we CAN question the motives of politicians. We CAN participate in discussions like this. We SHOULD hold our elected officials to a higher standards. I will never be convinced that this law was created out of necessity. I will always believe that this initiative does not address any of the problems with the lake. I believe truly that a group of politicians were swayed by fear and emotion.
I see this whole initiative as a huge waste of time, money and resources. It is distracting the focus from what could really work to make the lake safer. Why don't they fund the Marine Patrol adequately. Why don't they crack down on boater licensing. I would favor making all certificates obtained online invalid! That would affect me! I'd have to take a proctored exam. We have laws on the books to address every single problem ever raised on this forum. This law does not specifically address anything.
Whether or not you choose to believe it the Director of the Marine Patrol stated that
"there is not a large number of boats that exceeded the speed limit."
This was said before the Speed Limit was enacted.