Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 15, 1994 TAG: 9408160025
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The operator wasn't hurt, but a 7-year-old girl on the dock was hospitalized with head injuries. Wardens said she lost several teeth. The 24-year-old told investigating officers that he'd had about an hour's experience on a PWC.
That was the 16th boating accident reported on Smith Mountain Lake this year, said Lt. Karl Martin, a state game warden. Eight have involved a PWC.
These kinds of figures have wardens and safety officials concerned, and they give PWC a less-than-stellar reputation.
"Last year, they [PWC] made up about 4 percent of the registered boats and they accounted for 36.8 percent of the boating accidents," said Jack Cox, boating safety coordinator for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Officials say the majority of operators handle themselves responsibility, but there are a handful who view PWC as toys, not boats.
William Antozzi, boating safety officer for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, saw a man operating a PWC on Lake Chesdin while standing on his head.
"I was trying to figure out how he was doing it, but he was doing it," Antozzi said.
"Inexperience, I think, is the biggest cause of accidents," Martin said. "Plus the fact that they have increased the horsepower to 70. We are looking at watercraft that will travel at a higher speed than any of our patrol boats. We are lucky that we haven't had more serious injuries."
The injuries might be worse were it not for the fact that PWC are powered by a jet-type pump engine, in lieu of a propeller.
"If you run over somebody you aren't going to grind him up, "Cox said.
Most accidents are crashes: running into a dock, running aground, running into another PWC, running into a boat, said Cox.
"It is kind of like with motorcycles, the larger craft usually wins," Martin said.
Three of the accidents on Smith Mountain this year involved PWC crashing into PWC. Operators of PWC who are involved in mishaps tend to have less boating experience than other boaters. Boaters involved in the 16 accidents reported on Smith Mountain had 382 hours of experience while PWC operators had 32.
Two years ago regulations were passed that prohibit anyone under the age of 14 from operating a PWC.
"I think that has worked," said Martin. "Compliance has been good. We have charged a number of parents who allowed 11, 12 and 13-year-olds to operate a craft, rather than having the juveniles in court. Fourteen- to 17-year olds have been involved in only a few of the accidents reported."
Because often they are considered a toy, it is tough to get PWC operators into boating safety courses, Antozzi said.
"Apparently, they don't perceive their activity as boating," he said.
But the courts are beginning to see it that way.
"People in the courts are taking the violations more seriously than in the past," said Martin.
PWC manufacturers and dealers are working to make the sport they promote safer.
"Sea Doo is extremely keen on safety, because, naturally, that is the market that they want to maintain," said Pete Jordan, of Webster Marine, the top seller of PWC on Smith Mountain Lake.
PWC come with a safety video and brochure, Jordan said.
"At Webster Marine Center, we highly encourage everybody to take a boating safety course," he said. "That is the whole key to it, education."
by CNB