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Posted by }<)))*> StriperChaser on November 20, 2005, 6:31 pm A task force assembled to improve boater safety at Smith Mountain Lake is putting most of its eggs in the mandatory education basket. As long as some other proposed new rules are put in place to clamp down on high performance boats on the lake, mandatory education classes for all boaters could go a long way toward reducing the accidents - some of them fatal - at Smith Mountain and other bodies of water in Virginia. The task force decided last week to recommend legislation to the General Assembly for mandatory boating courses that would be phased in. The It is not clear why out-of-state boaters should not be required to demonstrate some basic knowledge of safety before being allowed to take their Although some boaters at the lake have called for a ban on the high performance boats that can run as fast as 80 mph, the task force decided not At that earlier meeting in October, the task force recommended legislation setting the daytime speed limit for all boats at 55 mph and a nighttime It is clear that boaters at Smith Mountain Lake want tougher laws to improve safety on the water - not only at the lake in Bedford, but on other Link: Read the article
4.152.186.89
Mandatory education a key to boating safety
Lynchburg News & Advance
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
recommendation would also allow people to rent boats after completing an abbreviated version of the safety course. Included in the proposal is
provision that would allow out-of-state boaters to use their boats for 30 days without passing a course.
vessels on to the lake. Given that many states require mandatory education courses of their own, perhaps a certificate from their home state
would document that they have had such a course.
to recommend any specific safety changes for high-performance boats. The task force said suggestions to limit speed and noise did enough to
address complaints about the high-performance boats, most of which would be safer in much larger bodies of water.
speed limit of 25 mph. Boaters would also face noise limits if the task force’s proposals are enacted into law. An increase in the number of game
wardens on the lake would also be needed to enforce the new laws and give them some teeth.
lakes around the state. Area lawmakers can help with that effort by pushing the proposals, along with greater funding for DGIF, through the 2006
legislative session.
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