DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711140003

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial

                                            LENGTH:   55 lines

WATER SAFETY INCLUDE EVERYONE

Virginia's state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wants a law that would require young boaters to complete a water-safety course before taking to Virginia's waterways.

Good plan. Water-safety courses are a necessity - not just for youngsters, but for anyone navigating the state's increasingly busy waterways. Kids are not the main problem in boating accidents, and to aim the lion's share of safety efforts at the youngest boaters is misguided.

According to a report by Toni Guagenti in Monday's Virginian-Pilot, Virginia currently has no minimum age for operation of a boat but does require drivers of personal watercraft - commonly called by the trade name Jet Ski - to be at least 14.

The department of Game and Inland Fisheries wants to change that. Officials there propose that the General Assembly raise to 16 the minimum age for legally operating a boat without having first passed a safety course. They also suggest that the minimum age for driving Jet Skis ought to rise to 16 and that children between the ages of 14 and 16 be allowed to operate personal watercraft only if they have passed a safety course.

We have nothing against pushing young boaters into water-safety courses to make them aware of safe boating practices from the start. But the fact of the matter is that the 21-to 40-year-olds, not the youngest mariners, have the highest rate of boating accidents.

Surely any legal move to mandate safety courses for boaters ought to include the people causing most of the accidents - young adults. In fact, the most common cause of boating accidents is excessive speed - not inexperienced navigation.

Jet Skis are another story. These so-called personal watercraft were in the news last summer for the danger they posed to swimmers and for the general nuisance associated with their noise. Although they constitute only 6 percent to 7 percent of the state's registered boats, personal watercraft were involved in 35 percent of boating accidents.

That's alarming.

Virginia Beach City Council considered banning Jet Skis outright last year but instead appointed a commission to study the problem. At a public hearing two weeks ago, angry members of the public demanded that all Jet Skiers receive mandatory education.

That makes sense. Compulsory safety - and courtesy - classes for personal watercraft operators should be mandated by the city and the state.

And Virginia Beach should address the thorny question of Jet Ski rentals. It is simply unacceptable that people with absolutely no experience on the water can rent personal watercraft capable of speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour.

Earlier editorials have noted that, if something is not done to make a few drivers of personal watercraft more responsible, all will find themselves in the same predicament as surfers and skateboarders - severely restricted in where and when they can operate their expensive toys.

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