All operators of powerboats and personal watercraft
urged to take classes, regardless of age
In their continuing effort to help save lives, the United
States Coast Guard Auxiliary recently passed a resolution urging state
legislatures to require mandatory boating safety education, regardless of
age. The non-binding resolution, which was passed unanimously at the
Auxiliary National Training Conference in St. Louis, supplements a resolution passed
in 2003. That resolution suggested that boating safety education be required
for anyone under the age of sixteen operating a power boat or personal
watercraft. The latest resolution cites continuing evidence that indicates
approximately 80 percent of fatalities occur on boats whose operators have
not received any form of boating safety education. Moreover, statistics
indicate that the average age of someone involved in a boating fatality is
around 38 years old, and thus, those states who require mandatory classes for
younger boaters have seen little or no impact on their boating fatality
statistics.
The majority of states who have some form of mandatory education tend to base
the requirements on the operator's date of birth (i.e. anyone born after
January 1, 1986 would be required to take a class). Anyone born before the
statutory date is exempt from the mandatory class requirements. Furthermore,
some states like California,
still have no form of mandatory education requirement.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary urges all boaters, including sailors and paddle
craft operators, to take a boating safety course approved by the National
Association of State Boating Law Administrators. To find a boating safety
class in your area, call 1-877-875-6296, or visit http://nws.cgaux.org/visitors/pe_visitor/index.html
.
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