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Tough Fight for Boater Safety Course

January 29, 2008 - Any kind of safety law that relates to outdoor recreation seems to bring out the worst in some Mainers. Question: What could the state of Maine do to increase boater safety, lower the number of deaths and injuries caused on the water and dimmish the cost of boat insurance by at least 10 percent? Answer: Pass a bill proposed by Rep. Thom Watson, D-Bath, called "An Act to Require Boating Safety Education."

Yet despite its clear and evident benefit to Maine, Watson's bill is unlikely to pass. Unless, of course, there's been a change of hearts and minds in the Maine Legislature.

In 2006, lawmakers commissioned a study of the potential effects of a mandatory boater safety education course. The request emerged out of concerns that the increasing number of recreational kayakers, canoeists, motor boat operators and personal watercraft users on Maine's waters created a hazard to the safety of all boaters. Participants in the study spanned the range of Maine interests, from the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine to the Marine Manufacturers Association as well as regulators from the Department of Marine Resources and Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. The group declared "that mandatory boater education is needed for all Maine boaters," and recommended that the state adopt a requirement. According to members of the study group, they never wavered in that position.

The recommendation seemed that much more necessary after a horrible incident last summer on Long Lake, where a small motor boat was sheared in two and its two occupants killed when a huge and powerful 32-foot racing boat plowed through them one night. Yet lawmakers ignored the recommendation. No legislation was introduced as a result of the study.

Now, though, comes brave Rep. Watson, the embodiment of common sense and prudence, wielding his bill to protect those on Maine's waters. It will be quite a battle for this seasoned lawmaker, because any kind of safety law that relates to outdoor recreation seems to bring out the worst in some Mainers.

Today, the Inland Fisheries & Wildlife committee will hold a public hearing on Watson's legislation, and we expect its members will be told that such a requirement is an insult to Maine's maritime heritage, a plot by people from away to deny Mainers their right to go really fast in their bass boats, will lower the collective testosterone level and will lead to a virtual police state if passed. Oh, and in case lawmakers don't get the message, they're likely to get unelected next November if they go anywhere near such a requirement.

We hope state lawmakers listen respectfully to that side of the argument, even when presented as threats, but resist the inclination to take the easy way out and do nothing. We hope instead that they do what's right, which is to pass a reasonable requirement that those who want to operate a motor boat or jet ski on Maine's waters must learn how to do so safely.

SOURCE: KENNEBEC JOURNAL

DATE: 01-15-2008


Lakes: Long Lake
Regions: Sebago


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