Our First Battle Victory in the War Against Speed Limits in NJ!
11-14-2002, 02:42 PM
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Our First Battle Victory in the War Against Speed Limits in NJ!
We won part of the battle so far - but we still have a long way to go! We need to continue the fight against speed limits in the Metedeconk & Toms River waterways!
Thanks again to everyone who submitted lettere!
Boating panel debating speed limits
Published in the Asbury Park Press 11/14/02
Seven-day summer limit of 30 mph being considered
By TRACY ROBINSON
and KIRK MOORESTAFF WRITERS
A proposal to reduce boat speeds in specific inland waterways has critics arguing that regulators are either forcing boaters to pull the throttle back too far, or are not going far enough to set even slower limits.
[/p]
"We kind of backed down on regulating speed in all of the tidal waters," said Roger K. Brown, chairman of the state's Boat Regulation Commission yesterday.
[/p]
The commission is an advisory board to the state attorney general.
[/p]
Instead of the proposed blanket speed limit of 30 miles per hour on all tidal waterways during summer weekends, Brown said, changes could include setting a speed limit of 35 miles per hour only in congested areas such as the Toms and Metedeconk rivers.
[/p]
As on land, boat speeds can be enforced with radar. But critics note that State Police have discussed the difficulty of enforcing speed limits on the water. Brown expects such changes to be discussed at the commission's public meeting 10 a.m. Jan. 8, at New Jersey State Police headquarters in West Trenton.
[/p]
The changes are due to "very vigorous" opposition to the blanket speed limit at the Nov. 6 commission meeting at the Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy, Brown said.
[/p]
Most of the approximately 30 people in attendance spoke out against such widespread speed limits, said commission member Gerald Nelson, 57, Long Branch.
[/p]
Boaters opposed to speed limits include Charles Amorosi, of the New Jersey Power Boat Performance Club. Amorosi, 59, a Dover Township resident who owns a 36-foot Spectre catamaran, says a 35 mph limit won't be appropriate for all power vessels.
[/p]
Amorosi echoes statements made by other boaters, that at slow speeds some high-performance boats can not get on a plane -- meaning their hulls won't be riding over the waves. At such speeds the bow of a performance boat may ride at a higher angle, blocking the captain's view ahead, he said.
[/p]
Brown contends that slower speeds and increased safety go hand in hand, yet club members contend that out of all the 2002 boating deaths, just four involved performance boats at excessive speeds: a May accident when a Hazlet man was ejected from his speedboat in Raritan Bay, and a June accident off Sea Isle City, where three brothers were killed when their high-speed catamaran flipped in heavy seas.
[/p]
On the other end of the spectrum is William deCamp Jr. of the environmental group Save Barnegat Bay.
[/p]
DeCamp's group has advocated the more strict, 30 mph speed limit seven days a week from May 1 to Oct. 31 on specific waterways.
[/p]
"What is worth protecting on weekends must surely be worth protecting on weekdays as well," deCamp said.
[/p]
DeCamp made other arguments for week-long speed limits: reducing noise levels from boat engines, and less turbidity, the stirring of sediment by boat propellers.
[/p]
Currently, there are no speed limits in tidal waters except for in specific no-wake zones.
[/p]
Nelson said he doubts if the commission will get new regulations in place in time for this summer.
[/p]
Although Brown said the commission was not ramming any new regulations "down anybody's throat," he expects a vote on new restrictions by the 10 a.m. March 5, meeting at the National Guard Militia Museum Museum in Sea Girt.
[/p]
Before the restrictions can take effect, the commission must accept how it was drafted by the Attorney General's office and allow a 60-day public hearing period, he said.
[/p]
A call by some to require all recreational boaters be licensed or certified is not something the commission can impose, Brown said. That idea will be passed to state Sen. Andrew R. Ciesla, R-Ocean, he said.
[/p]
Licensing boat operators -- and boat speed limits -- is also high on the agenda of the state Assembly task force on boating safety, which has been discussing potential amendments to state boating laws.
[/p]
The task force will receive public comment at its meeting 2 p.m. tomorrow in Camden at the Rutgers University campus center.
Thanks again to everyone who submitted lettere!
Boating panel debating speed limits
Published in the Asbury Park Press 11/14/02
Seven-day summer limit of 30 mph being considered
By TRACY ROBINSON
and KIRK MOORESTAFF WRITERS
A proposal to reduce boat speeds in specific inland waterways has critics arguing that regulators are either forcing boaters to pull the throttle back too far, or are not going far enough to set even slower limits.
[/p]
"We kind of backed down on regulating speed in all of the tidal waters," said Roger K. Brown, chairman of the state's Boat Regulation Commission yesterday.
[/p]
The commission is an advisory board to the state attorney general.
[/p]
Instead of the proposed blanket speed limit of 30 miles per hour on all tidal waterways during summer weekends, Brown said, changes could include setting a speed limit of 35 miles per hour only in congested areas such as the Toms and Metedeconk rivers.
[/p]
As on land, boat speeds can be enforced with radar. But critics note that State Police have discussed the difficulty of enforcing speed limits on the water. Brown expects such changes to be discussed at the commission's public meeting 10 a.m. Jan. 8, at New Jersey State Police headquarters in West Trenton.
[/p]
The changes are due to "very vigorous" opposition to the blanket speed limit at the Nov. 6 commission meeting at the Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy, Brown said.
[/p]
Most of the approximately 30 people in attendance spoke out against such widespread speed limits, said commission member Gerald Nelson, 57, Long Branch.
[/p]
Boaters opposed to speed limits include Charles Amorosi, of the New Jersey Power Boat Performance Club. Amorosi, 59, a Dover Township resident who owns a 36-foot Spectre catamaran, says a 35 mph limit won't be appropriate for all power vessels.
[/p]
Amorosi echoes statements made by other boaters, that at slow speeds some high-performance boats can not get on a plane -- meaning their hulls won't be riding over the waves. At such speeds the bow of a performance boat may ride at a higher angle, blocking the captain's view ahead, he said.
[/p]
Brown contends that slower speeds and increased safety go hand in hand, yet club members contend that out of all the 2002 boating deaths, just four involved performance boats at excessive speeds: a May accident when a Hazlet man was ejected from his speedboat in Raritan Bay, and a June accident off Sea Isle City, where three brothers were killed when their high-speed catamaran flipped in heavy seas.
[/p]
On the other end of the spectrum is William deCamp Jr. of the environmental group Save Barnegat Bay.
[/p]
DeCamp's group has advocated the more strict, 30 mph speed limit seven days a week from May 1 to Oct. 31 on specific waterways.
[/p]
"What is worth protecting on weekends must surely be worth protecting on weekdays as well," deCamp said.
[/p]
DeCamp made other arguments for week-long speed limits: reducing noise levels from boat engines, and less turbidity, the stirring of sediment by boat propellers.
[/p]
Currently, there are no speed limits in tidal waters except for in specific no-wake zones.
[/p]
Nelson said he doubts if the commission will get new regulations in place in time for this summer.
[/p]
Although Brown said the commission was not ramming any new regulations "down anybody's throat," he expects a vote on new restrictions by the 10 a.m. March 5, meeting at the National Guard Militia Museum Museum in Sea Girt.
[/p]
Before the restrictions can take effect, the commission must accept how it was drafted by the Attorney General's office and allow a 60-day public hearing period, he said.
[/p]
A call by some to require all recreational boaters be licensed or certified is not something the commission can impose, Brown said. That idea will be passed to state Sen. Andrew R. Ciesla, R-Ocean, he said.
[/p]
Licensing boat operators -- and boat speed limits -- is also high on the agenda of the state Assembly task force on boating safety, which has been discussing potential amendments to state boating laws.
[/p]
The task force will receive public comment at its meeting 2 p.m. tomorrow in Camden at the Rutgers University campus center.
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11-14-2002, 06:52 PM
#8
"What is worth protecting on weekends must surely be worth protecting on weekdays as well," deCamp said.
[/p]
DeCamp made other arguments for week-long speed limits: reducing noise levels from boat engines, and less turbidity, the stirring of sediment by boat propellers.
[/p]
It is time to use this guy's argument against him. The turbidity generated by a boat going slower and lower in the water is much greater than the stirring caused by a boat properly trimmed and planing. I love how these self-appointed environmentalists skew the facts any way they have to in order to get their way. you know if you check up enough you'll find this guy is a member of some sailing or canoeing club in the area
As a matter of fact the noise is likely less also since the engine is not working as hard to plane the boat.
Congrats on the success so far-I suspect your battle is not over yet-GOOD LUCK!
[/p]
DeCamp made other arguments for week-long speed limits: reducing noise levels from boat engines, and less turbidity, the stirring of sediment by boat propellers.
[/p]
It is time to use this guy's argument against him. The turbidity generated by a boat going slower and lower in the water is much greater than the stirring caused by a boat properly trimmed and planing. I love how these self-appointed environmentalists skew the facts any way they have to in order to get their way. you know if you check up enough you'll find this guy is a member of some sailing or canoeing club in the area
As a matter of fact the noise is likely less also since the engine is not working as hard to plane the boat.
Congrats on the success so far-I suspect your battle is not over yet-GOOD LUCK!
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