Hustler you can go buy a 200mph street bike for $10k & your supposed to keep it between two 12ft or so lines. I'm not so sure everyone can just plop into a $300k+ boat either, it's a select few that have that luxury! Don't attend if you have issues w/ the speed boats are running now a days......

Historically why do poker run accidents occur en-route (or race) to the first card stop ?

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have a question. Why are there spectators at a poker run? If it isn't a race and speed makes no difference at all, why wouldn't anyone with a boat participate? I have done motorcycle poker runs and everyone participates. The only watchers are those without a bike. It's always more fun to participate than it is to watch. I know I'll catch heat for this, but I have never been much of a spectator.

Rich are getting richer and poor are geting poorer. Rich can afford to pay High insurance but the average guy can't/ If they did not have insurance ( like race boats do not) they "might" be a little more carefull and try not to go so close to the ragged edge and keep the dangers in mind. "Most" boat racers keep the dangers in mind. Insurance helps situations but should not be thought of as an accident solution.I was not there and did not talk to the people that crashed , got hurt or flipped or even died last weekend, but i have a solution.

every boater has to pass a writtin test to be shown at the boat launch. (Drivers and passengers ) The test is 5 bucks , kids under 12 free. One time test is good for life ( this would pay for the launch ramp jokey to check permits. With more people coming into boating it would be a constan buisness ( how else can you keep the people with no knowledge AND OTHERS safe on the lake). This would be revenue FOR the lake owners or comunities. NOT GOV REGULATED.

Poker runners Drivers and people w a hundred mph boat. should need a better permit as well as a interview with someone who has authority on the waters. Not some water patrol moron either.

Just my 2 cents

No thanks!

So your saying someone doesnt care about flipping over going 160+ because he has insurance? Get real! Makes no sense. It was an ACCIDENT. Let it go . Glad everyones OK, thats all that really matters. Thats the risk of going 160 plus. They're taking the risk not you.

I did not say that they don't care, You said that. Everybody cares. Just not everybody knows how to be careful

Add a lil adrenaline in the mix too...

We've all had our oh **** moments. Some worse than others. I have had my share both as a passenger and captain. **** happens and when it does it happens fast. All part of the game no matter how cautious you are...

you are correct sir. Adreneline is a culpret of many things.. I wanted to add the whole thing to the discution because the title say's "crash at DS"

Not just about the high speed crash. There were others. I heard a father ran over his daugter because she fell off the bow of the boat. I heard she was killed. I am so sorry for the lost to there family.,. But being on the front of a moving boat is something that you just don't do . Right . Some people do not know these things

I personally can't see how you can operate a boat at 160mph on a confined body of water without a resrticted course and be in control of your vessel. It is impossible to avoid a pleasure boater, fisherman, or inner tuber and still safely correct your course without risking yourself and your passengers. Its like rearending someone in a car, you are always at fault for not having your vehicle under control.

Injury or not I'm sure the lawyers will be out.

The problem with that thinking is that eventually everyone ends up paying for the risks these people are taking when accidents like this happen. How much longer do you think poker runs would continue if something like this happened at every event? Granted, I know that things like this do not happen at every event, but it does seem like we are seeing more and more accidents like this during poker runs. At some point we are going to reach a threshold where it won't make sense to put on a poker run (of DS caliber) any longer because the risk(s) is (are) too great. At some point the insurance companies are going to catch on and not offer coverage during events like this (in personal/individual policies and the policies used to cover events like this). At some point the authorities are going to step in claiming they need to protect the public from the big bad performance boaters “racing” during events like this. What is the answer to solve all these problems…? I don’t know. I know putting a speed limit on events like this would cut down, but is that what we have come to as a boating community…? I hope not.