State to Test Boat Speed Limits

[Becca]

Hi All,

This just in from WMUR today!

CONCORD, N.H. -- Proposed statewide boat speed limits appear to be sidetracked for this year, but two popular sections of Lake Winnipesaukee probably will get temporary limits this summer.

Those limits -- in waters around Bear and Rattlesnake islands -- are expected to be 45 mph during the day and 25 mph at night.

The House Transportation Committee cleared the way for the pilot program Tuesday by deciding to hold onto a bill to impose speed limits on lakes around the state. Legislators and Safety Department officials said Wednesday that the move opened the door for the test program.

"That's the indication we need from the Legislature that we have the green light to put on the pilot program," said Earl Sweeney, assistant safety commissioner.

He said the experiment would let officials test radar on the water, see how expensive it would be to enforce speed limits and see how district courts would handle boating speeding tickets. At the end of the season, the department would tell legislators how the experiment worked out.

Winnipesaukee is the state's largest lake, and the areas around Bear and Rattlesnake islands are two of its most popular areas. Supporters of speed limits said a relatively small number of extremely fast boats is spoiling the lake for other users.

Rep. James Pilliod, sponsor of the statewide speed limit bill, decried the proposal to sidetrack it for more study and called the pilot program a joke.

Calling for more study is an old legislative trick for killing bills, he said, and, in this case, represents "a careful design, right from the first, of the sellers of large boats."

The House could ignore the recommendation for more study and pass the bill, said Pilliod, R-Belmont.

Last year, a similar bill Pilliod sponsored passed the House but failed in the Senate.

Angry speed-limit supporters petitioned for a hearing, which produced impassioned arguments on both sides last September.

Sweeney said waters around the two islands are good places to test speed limits because reasonable boaters "wouldn't think of going that fast in those areas."

Courts would determine fines for violators.