Keytime

And bragging rights don't just apply to boaters... http://www.cannon-dunphy.com/case-re...boat-accident/

POWERPLAY J

Wtf does that mean? Because they show up? Because they throw money around? Because they have an entourage of lemmings? Let me guess... Because they have the coolest chit on the water money will buy? Who ****ing cares aside from the people that are going to profit? The guy with a twenty year old tub that scrimps and saves and works his or her ass off to be there deserves just as much if not more respect.

turbo rr

iTrader: (3)

Something you guys are missing here......What is to stop someone who is not actually involved in the run (not signed up) run with the registered participants? If you regulate it to death the big boys just will not sign up but they still can make the runs to the stops and no one can stop them. It is not a closed course or illegal. Boat owners rarely enter a poker run for the money....it is the ability to run your boat with other boats in your class/caliber. I will admit I don't have an answer other than boat owners and operators taking responsibility and operating their boat in a safe manner. Period. To explain my point further.....lets say that a poker run organizer sets a speed limit of 60mph for all participants. All of the boats are equipped with gps,s, helicopters above and a pace boat that no one is allowed to pass. Now 5 buddies that are not signed up with the run, with boats capable of over 100, run in between the run...something happens....did all of the safety mechanisms help? The only thing that would be accomplished is that there will be a decreased liability for the organizers.

As I said before I don't have the solution....but as long as it is held in a open public waterway it is nearly impossible to police it.

redbud35

I'm not condoning what the "red" boat did. But, the spectators are way too close at Cumberland. They are constantly milling on the sidelines and sitting in the middle of the channel, it's very distracting doing this run. All that being said, this run is no place to be seeing 150+ speeds.

Waterdogs

To be one of the boats involved, would be a life changing event for me. I believe it is the same for those who survived this, cruiser included. Up until the moment it all went bad, these boats were having fun at the highest level. You have a list of the usual suspects, call and talk. Next run, offenders buddy up with someone trusted and go from there. Complicated never works

VFCW

In light of all the data available about how cameras and GPS tracking have changed the behavior of cops, bus drivers, seal team operators, UPS drivers, garbage men, FBI agents, home health nurses, etc, etc, etc. There is nothing to indicate that high performance boat drivers will not demonstrate a new found respect for rules and procedures when they know their route, speed, behavior are being watched just like all of the above. Beyond that the analysis of the data streams and enforcement/discipline will rest squarely on the shoulders of the promoters. As I previously posted I believe this is the weak link for this particular application.



??? At both Ozarks and LC these events are bigger tourist draws than the July fourth or Labor day weekends.
I take it you haven't been to a Nascar race in the last couple years and noticed that two thirds of the fans are watching and listening to their drivers telemetry via a smart phone. A free app that kicked out a boat/driver profile with picture as that boat passed the spectators position along with current and top speed for the day would be on most every spectators smart phone in a minute.

POWERPLAY J

Common sense would be a great start. I will give you a good example. A couple of the runs I do happen to be on the same days a sailing club does their races on a marked course. You can go online and see the course. If not you can easily see the sails, turn buoys and the patrol boats. Every year I see idiots blowing through their course at wot. No respect for a fellow boater, pretty sad in my book...

ActiveThunder

So are we to assume all these people on the lake had nothing else to do but go sit on the side of the lake and drool as the impressive boats roar by?

Wonder what these hillbillys normally do on this beautiful lake. Sit on the dock?

(no insult to the hillbillys. I'm a redneck so can say that)

VFCW

I never said I cared. I said I feared that the big names may be given special treatment if they break the rules even under a new system that produces lots of hard data about reckless behavior. The promoter won't think twice about booting a guy with a twenty year old tub.

VtSteve

But it's really just that simple. It's become a way for some to have NASCAR on the water. When you have such a high percentage of people in the same hobby that think you're a danger and reckless, there's your sign. It appears that the vast majority want to have fun, socialize, and participate in runs that further integrate their boats with their lives. There are some that get a woody by having their pictures taken, making sure everyone thinks they're important, and showing off. That's fine too, but reckless is still reckless.

As a great line in a movie once noted "Nobody wants to come to a slaughterhouse".

Some in the industry are probably worried that Mable and Joe that own a 15 year-old Baja that goes 65 on a good day won't ever be in the market for a $500,000 boat with super engines. It would hurt sales if they became the market. It may seem like that, but if you look at boat sales and raw numbers, it's hardly true. Without recreational boaters, I doubt Mercury Racing would exist. But think about it another way. With speed limits and limited poker runs, companies like Skater wouldn't exist as they do now. If LC went to a 50 mph speed limit, would you buy a new Cobalt, or a new "low end" Skater for $100,000?

So think a little more long term industry veterans. Just a few tweaks and boating survives very well, but the "big names" and "high rollers" would be out of the game entirely. People still buy AMG Mercedes, BMW's, Porsches, all kinds of fast and exotic machinery. But most of them know when to use them, or risk being locked up or dead. Some get it, some don't. But this issue is far greater than poker runs or performance boating. Inland waterways that got fed up with the truly obnoxious and reckless boater, ended up restricting ALL boaters. On some lakes, you could't legally go WOT in a 20' bow rider. All because of some nut that likes to see his picture in a magazine, or bragged about online. Most of us learn those lessons before high school, some don't.