Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 6, 1994 TAG: 9402060063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is called the Alabama Boating Safety Reform Act of 1994, and here's what it would do:
Require boat operators to pass an approved boating safety course.
Make it illegal for anyone under age 16 to operate a boat, with the exception of a 14-or 15-year old who has a learners permit and a licensed operator in the next seat. Boaters ages 14 and 15 could operate a boat alone that is less than 14 feet in length and 50 hp.
Merge the boat license program with the state's vehicle license setup and establish a point system for reckless boat operation that can lead to suspension of a boating license.
Apply highway sobriety laws to boating with minimum fines, jail terms and license suspension.
Require that life jackets be worn by all boaters aboard vessels less than 24 feet; children under age 6 would have to wear a flotation device on any boat less than 40 feet.
Require kill switches to be installed and used.
Give law enforcement officials authority to establish boating speed zones in accident-prone areas.
Establish stricter regulations for personal watercraft.
Alabama's boating reform act is getting national attention because it is being endorsed by B.A.S.S., the largest fishing organization in the nation. In fact, B.A.S.S. helped mold it and is urging its members, through state federations, to consider putting similar regulations into practice on home water.
Virginia legislators have turned downed mandatory boat safety training on a number of occasions; in fact, it has been so unpopular that no one has bothered to introduce such a bill in the 1994 General Assembly.
That's fine with Jack Cox, boating safety coordinator for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
"We are doing pretty well overall," said Cox, pointing with pride to the record 24,392 boaters who voluntarily took safety classes in Virginia last year.
The National Transportation Safety Board estimates that about 19 percent of the nation's boaters have taken safety courses. Cox says the figure for Virginia is 31 percent, and a great deal of that is the result of the efforts of dedicated volunteer instructors.
Boating fatalities reached 27 last year in Alabama, which is one of the reasons lawmakers there are taking notice. In Virginia, there were 15 fatalities. That's still too many, even when you consider there are about 400,000 boats in use across the state. But it is well under the 10-year average, Cox said.
Virginia already has in place a number of the regulations that are pending in Alabama, the major exceptions being laws that require mandatory training and the wearing of flotation-devices. What it needs most now is money to fund current programs and enforce laws on the book.
Several bills have been introduced to accomplish that. The most important is a measure by Del. Vic Thomas of Roanoke that would reroute the 2-percent boat titling tax from the general fund to the boating fund, where it has belonged all along. The bill passed the House on Friday without opposition, but it faces a tougher test in the Senate where some key lawmakers have problems with it.
The bill isn't just important to boaters but also to outdoorsmen interested in wildlife and angling. The $2.3 million in tax money that is lost annually by the boat program is made up with hunting and fishing license fees. That means hunters and fishermen are forced to supplement the boat program. It should be self supporting, with adequate funds for safety, enforcement and public access.
If you want to tell the senators that, there's a toll-free number for leaving a message: 1-800-889-0229.
by CNB