hugetime1

I never said I go out of my way to endanger innocent people or am I uncertious on the water in anyway. My issue is with gov't, insurance companies, enviormental freaks always wanting to regulate everything. Just because somebody has an accident at high speed doesn't mean it should ruin it for everybody. In Germany when there is a 200mph accident on the highway, they just hose down the road and re-open the highway, there are no lawsuits, no gov't hearings on safety, they just chalk it up as an unfortunate inncodent and move on.

Semper Fi

Don't talk to me about freedom. I spent 8 years of MY life in The Marines so people like YOU can have your freedoms.

I don't want our freedom(s) taken away either, but, there are way too many idiots out on the water in boats and PWC that always hurt someone else from their stupid, negligent mistakes. That problem has to change.

Semper Fi

I misunderstood your post , sorry man

orss

i agree 100% with you in that, and irresponsible people are making the responsible one pay for their mistake, regulations and insurance premiums are changing because of that,

orss

i will not have a problem helping some one that have a car accident and hurt my family, a true accident, but is someone drunk hit my family, well that's a different story, why because that person is irresponsible and should not be driving, same with boats, if someone have and accident that can't be avoid well that one thing, but someone running 100+ miles in areas where people are enjoying the day that is irresponsible, and you will not like this for some one that you love either

the duke

How many deaths and serious injuries on the water happen to or are caused by high speed (100+ ) boats?

Its a VERY small number. The vast majority of water accidents are caused by people in everyday boats that have been drinking, or just have no clue what they are doing. Take a look at the hit and run guy that Sharkey posted. a slow cruiser.

If we could make people take a USPS or USCGA class in EVERY state before they got on the water, it would help a lot. I taught USPS safety classes for 10 years, and believe me, most of the peope in them had no clue when they started. or worse, they THOUGHT they knew what they were doing. Not to pick on "old timers" but in many classes, I would have them argue with me when we were teaching something, and tell me that I was wrong because they had been doing it their way for 50 years. Those are the scary people.

If we could stop the morons that jump on a friends jet ski, or dart in and out of boat traffic with them we'd also stop a lot of accidents.

Regulating speed on the water is not going to do anything to cut down on accidents/deaths. If you hit an other boat at 45 mph, you are going to be hurt, and hurt bad. and the people running at this speed are the ones I had in class that think they know it all. I know people with a 38' Sea Ray who run in the ocean off NJ. Their idea of fun is to take several cases of beer out and drink all day. Then they think they can still operate that boat. and they DID take the USPS class from me. But if you ask them, drinking all day is okay, and they are still able to operate that boat. NOT

Are there guys out there with 100+++mph boats that are idiots? I'm sure there are, but they are a very small minority of the total boats and an even smaller cause of accidents. Even with the very very high speed that are run in poker runs today, I only remember 2 or 3 accidents in the last couple years, and thats out of hundreds of boats that have run them.

X-Rated30

Thanks for your service. I appreciate my freedom and yours. I have practiced criminal defense for the last 12 years so that people like you can have your freedom, too.

I agree about some of it, but I think you are missing the point. We performance boat owners are not the problem. The majority of people that are injured on the water are on PWCs or or smaller boats. It isn't the performance boater that is injuring them, either. These are the low budget uneducated boaters that are getting themselves into problems.

Just yesterday, we were parked on the beach in a crowded part of the river. A bass boat flies by at speed and jumps the wake of the ski boat in front of it. He was about 30 yards off the bank and he came completely out of the water. He jumped the wake on the side closest to the beach where everyone was parked. How little would it have taken for him to land wrong on another wake and get out of shape and end up running it into the crowd? Carelessness is what kills people, not people going fast.

PWCs? Show me someone on OSO that hasn't had a PWC turn in front of them unexpectedly. At least performance boaters have to write a large check to get a fast boat. You can finance a PWC for about a hundred fifty bucks a month. I dare say most people are more concerned about destroying a 25 foot Baja than a financed PWC. It is that concern that makes us THINK about our actions more.

Again, what I am getting at is WE AREN'T THE PROBLEM!!! So regulating us (self or governmentally) isn't the solution.

Semper Fi

Not trying to start a pissing match with you, but you can't even compare the two. Not even close.

the duke

Lets not turn this into this.


BTY, THANKS for serving. "I" appreciate it!!! QAnyone that spent 8 years in the USMC has way bigger balls than I do. and I'm VERY glad you guys are out there!!!

Airpacker

[QUOTE=the duke
Are there guys out there with 100+++mph boats that are idiots? I'm sure there are, but they are a very small minority of the total boats and an even smaller cause of accidents. Even with the very very high speed that are run in poker runs today, I only remember 2 or 3 accidents in the last couple years, and thats out of hundreds of boats that have run them.[/QUOTE]

I think the bigger question is how many guys out there have the real knowledge and skill to SAFELY operate a 100+++mph boat. Not what they perceive as that knowledge and skill but the actual, required knowledge. Now, take an underskilled driver in a 140 mph boat and drop him in the middle of a poker run fleet where many other boat operators lack some of the necessary knowledge and skills and have something, anything go wrong. Dangerous?

Do I think that some Mr. Deep Pockets that buys a 140 mph offshore just because he can, with no knowledge is dangerous? Dam right I do but I also think some 12 yr old kid or renter on a PWC is dangerous too. As performance boaters, one of these we can help to make less dangerous. The other, well.............eventually the odds will sort that one out. I just hope myself, my family or friends aren't the ones that the Darwin award winner taskes out.