Semper Fi

Good point. I do think we should be "regulating ourselves" to an extent. Who really needs to go 160+ mph in a boat? Like I mentioned before.....an auto racetrack is the same every single time you run another lap. This is not the case on water and it is much more dangerous.

ratman

you cant regulate stupidity, idiots will be idiots no matter what, just try to stay out of thier way

Semper Fi

VERY TRUE. I think boating classes or training can be helpful. Just because someone can afford a 140+mph boat doesn't mean they have the talent to run it safely.

CAP071

so true, how many of these fast boat owners just walked in and bought these boats with no training at all?

bgchuby01

I have been a member of United States Power Sqadrons since I was a teenager. I do not believe that we need a seperate lisense to operate a boat. BUT I believe that to register a boat you should provide a certificate that you took a safety course from either USPS or the Coast Guard. Does not matter who. As you all know, anyone with a checkbook can go into any boat dealership and buy a 160mph boat with no experience what so ever. Lets just show that we have taken some sort of course and at least have some basic knowedge.

I used to race Nascar Winston West and before they would let you race on a large track (1mile or more) you had to race on a smaller track to show the nascar people that you knew how to handle a car and not take out everyone else on the track. I lived 4 miles from the california speedway and when it opened I wanted to drive there but nascar made me go to a 1/2 mile track and then a 1 mile track before they let me on Fontana. They don't want someone with a large checkbook taking out one of their stars with stupidity.

TEAMBAJA

A boaters safety course is good in general, but in a realistic world its not going to change anything for the guy with the fat checkbook and 150 mph boat.

I think these idiots on Jet Skis should be required to take some kind of course. After yesterday, Im gonna start packin a pototo launcher and start knocking them off one by one.

Airpacker

Poker run organizers should be responcible for every single participants safety PERIOD. All that is required is a rule the governs top speed to no more than that of the official pace boat. Its that simple. Pass the pace boat, you're out. End of discussion. Then, the organizers just have to nut up and set a SAFE top speed and stick to it. Its not up to the participants in a race to set and enforce the rules, it shouldn't be up to poker runners either. The safety of all rests on the shoulders of the few. They should have the brains and the balls to ensure it. The future os the sport requires it.

Semper Fi

My thoughts here were not to let an organization or our government control us....what I was thinking was for us to regulate ourselves. before we can't have any fun.

I do agree that ANYONE driving a powerboat, jet sji, etc... should take a USCG/PowerSquadron course to have some kind of boating knowlegde for safety reasons. I gurantee that would reduce the amount of incidents.

BLee

YES. They scare me worse than anyone. The least experienced of all people on the water are generally the PWC riders. 12 year olds, to 50 years olds, riding borrowed or rented equipment. They don't look, they don't try to stay in a general traffic direction, and they don't care.

Tricky919

I took a saftey coarse to get a license, and while they are good for basic boating rules and regulations, none of it was geared for, or prepared me to operate a boat at a fast speed. I think we need to use good judgement ourselves...........