LOTO Speeding at Night
 

Watch your speed at night on the LOTO. Was pulled over at the 9MM for doing 34 mph (GPS.) The offer said I was doing 37 mph, but backed off that when I told him 34 mph on GPS. Rumor is that all boats now have radar guns, part of a $60k AB donation last year. I agree with a night speed limit, but this seemed a little ticky tack.

The 30mph limit is good, but they should use some common sense enforcing it. A lot of boats are tough to keep on plane at 30mph and below.
Not to mention, radar isn't perfect and is meant to be used in a straight line to get the most accurate measurement.

I agree with Griff on this one to a point...30 mph is more than fast enough for night travel on LOTO....if you can't plane at that speed I suggest a nice slow cruise back home.... If your over 30 on your GPS your running too fast for the conditions and ticky tacky or not your gonna get stopped....

I usually run 32gps at night as my boat is hard to maintain 30 as it keeps dropping on and off plane. did he ticket you or let ya off with a warning?

I find little actual difference between 30-37mph. Hell, I could claim speedo error all the way up to 40 I bet. It would seem to me that they could better protect by catching those w/o lights and those leaving bars drunk and over crowded boats.

You can claim speedo error, but it not working properly is not a defense. Also, the WP is doing just like you said. They use the speeding to pull people over to look for BWI's.

FYI

at 30mph, you are traveling 44 feet per second.
at 37mph, you are traveling 55 feet per second.
at 45.................................66............. ..........
at 52.................................77............. ..........
at 60.................................88............. ..........

typical for water patrol.

they always start the season cracking down on ANY mistake/infraction people make.

Never forget my first trip to LOTO in 97,,,, didnt know ANYTHING about a night speed limit,,,, but it was dark,,, and common sence had me driving slow.

I was going down the main channel and out of the black night,,, FLASHING LIGHTS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME !!!!!

He pulled me over and said I was going 36 mph,,,, I said,,, " OK' thanks !!!!

He then proceded to tell me about the speed limit,,, I appoligized and he let me go.

He said how dangerous it was with some of the poeple flying around at night,,,, I laughed trying to joke but get my point across and said not as dangerous as you sitting dark in the middle of the channel !!!!!

i think water patrol told jason smith that if his boat cant stay on plan at 30 mph, then looks like he has a daytime only boat.

Like said a few times already, 30mph seems fast enough for me on LOTO. It is thin enough already, can be very dark in some areas and a lot of boaters are under the influence. Spend enough time on the water at night and you see everything. I have had people cut across me with NO lights, lights backwards (red and green switched) and people anchored with NO lights. Not sure I would want to encounter any of those situations again going faster than 30. My boat stays on plane right at about 26-28 with the tabs jammed out all the way thank god. If I couldn't I would be idling. Why give the WP a reason...

Plus unlike a lot of lakes there are a lot of background lights at LOTO. 30's plenty fast for me and I really try not to be out after dark. Whenever I hear a boat going fast at night I cringe a little.

One of the reasons I switched to a different style of boating for LOTO - I will be able to keep this on plane at around 16-17mph. Plus the radar will spot unlit boats. Just came out of paint today.

Thats crazy wp sitting in the main channel with no lights on, thats not right!

He let me off, I knew him, recognized me after he stopped me. He admitted he only pulled me over because he was bored.

I agree 30 mph is good for night, but I guy has to get on plane first and then back it down.

Cree - I was down this past weekend, not in my boat though. Give me a call next time you're down.

When they do the WP does the bwi checkpoints, there will be about 10 of them out there w/o lights.

Was the night speed limit ever 35 mph at LOTO ???

I never take my boat out at night. First of all couldn't stay on plane at that speed. Just like to be able to see what's in the water. Lucky to have friends with slow cruisin' boats.

The times I have gone through the check points it is lit up like a Xmas tree.

From what i remember, until they made it 30mph there never was a speed limit at night.

W/O a GPS speedo we are always in error. Crap shoot. Again, I see little difference between 30 and 37 mph.....10ft is nothing. WHy not make the limit idle speed if we are going to play that game. My only problem is these boats are NOT easy to keep at at any one speed, let alone know just how fast you really are going w/o expensive GPS. As long as you are in the ball park you should not be hassled for that reason. Sobriety stops every night...sure. 35 in a 30 in a boat....find something else to do. IMO

The boats that I see that don't even try to obey the speed limits, or the right of way is bass boats. I see them running 50-60 mph alot at night.

Yup. They do that on table rock too.

It would help alot too if boaters used general rules of navigation and stayed to the right.

Not to many people do that down there, day or night.

Thats my thoughts also. I don't like to drive on loto after dark but when I do, I feel like I'm looking down at the gps speedo trying to stay under the limit instead of devoting all my attention to where I' m going.:eek:

Andrew - I am headed down this weekend, will be in the first large cove to the right in the Gravios Arm on Saturday. Great job on the dash. Did you get the pics I sent., post them.

it seems like thats all they do down there @ LOTO is write tickets and jack with people. thats what we saw when we were there, i thought they were being that way because of the shootout. they acted this way at my home lake for about 1 month, when the boaters stopped coming they quit messing with anyone unless they were hurting someone besides there self.

It is all relative - there are upwards to 50K boats on the lake now. Over 10k any given weekend on the water. There is a lot of opportunity to pull over some not so smart boaters in my opinion.

wow, didn't relize it was that busy all the time. i guess that explains it then

I'll be lookin' for ya! That's my neck of the lake. :ernaehrung004:

Cree -
I got the pictures - thanks, everything looks great. Unfortunatly, I probably won't be down until the 4th. I've got to put a transmission in the truck in the next couple of weekends.

Night time speed limit
 

A night time speed limit hurts the boaters like myself that the boat fights to stay on plan at 29mph.. while dragging drives and tabs! Then trying to drive threw a 3 foot wake from a 20,000 lbs cruiser doing 29 Mph!! Its just another reason for them (Water patorl) to pull you over and find a reason to give you a ticket. I have gotten a speeding ticket at night. Heres the catch.. when I went to court my first question was is there a law that says I have to have a calibrated speed-o on my boat? ( THERE IS NOT ) So my ticket was dismissed. We all just need to make sure we have sober drivers driving the boat. One last thing... its not a speeding ticket like on the land..... its the same fine/whatever if your doing 32mph or 52mph. I am not sure what the speed limit is doing other then to giving water patrol another tool to pull you over. I have driven on the lake for years with out a speed limit and never saw or heard of any major incidents on the water then becuase of high speeds at night.

Interesting...been going there there for 10 years, lived there for 2 1/2, had a 28 pantera and 3, 38 top guns there during that time, had 2 WP boats moored at the marina across the cove from me and I have never, ever been stopped at LOTO.

Guess I've just been lucky:rolleyes:

I've been stopped 4 times.
1.bow light went out
2. Exhaust noise
3. safety check
4. bwi checkpoint

All were no big deal, but they did ask me about alcohol use at every stop.

In 10 years, I've been stopped twice (both on the same day in a new boat that had no registration numbers yet...safety check and on my way) and was waved at to slow down once in a no wake (was idling about 1,000 RPM). Other than that, they have not given me a second look. I would not want an unlimited speed limit after dusk. 30 MPH seems reasonable but I agree the MSWP needs to be flexible with boats that cannot plane at that speed.

if we are talking about the being stopped in one day, I was stopped 4 times on the same day. The kicker was once at the begining of the GG bridge no wake zone and then at the other end!!!!! I stay sober durring the day now or we set up a boat DD sched. Just to much to worrie about with the water patrol these days.....my boat is documented in Il. and because I have no numbers on the front that messes them up...LOL

Yea but you look shady...:party-smiley-004:

So one night me and a buddy are in the bass boat fishing on the main lake side of the island in front of Four Seasons...of course no anchor light (can't see the line even with the black light on if the anchor light is on). Now keep in mind that we are within 10 feet of the shoreline...so here comes this boat down the lake and as he gets closer I realize that he cutting it exceptionally close to the shoreline and coming right at us. So I start fumbling for the light switch (a small toggle up in the front of the boat, in the well for the trolling motor and covered by the cable for the trolliong motor) and just as I find and flip it on he is right next to us doing about 30 MPH...so I yell...HEY!!!!...well it's a Water Patrol boat and the poor guy about jumped out of the boat; I scared the bejesus out of him...he never saw us. Well he turns around, pulls up and starts reading me the riot act about not having my light on...so I asked him what he was doing driving so close to the shoreline...he never answered and just left.