2008 Coast Guard Statistics

[chmeeee]

Originally Posted by elchase

It's possible to enforce any boating law (except that ridiculous 150' rule) when you put your mind to it.

Why is it not possible to enforce that law? Why is it ridiculous?

Obviously it is not feasible to enforce threshold violations (say, 120'). Then again, it's not really feasible to enforce threshold speeding violations (say, 50 mph).

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by elchase

Here's a cute CG story. Maybe this guy was drunk; http://www.thespec.com/article/606600
Interesting is the way that even in international waters and with a boat doing 135, the authorities still were able to catch him. All it took was the desire to do so. It's possible to enforce any boating law (except that ridiculous 150' rule) when you put your mind to it. Of course, even if he had been drinking, I'm sure by the time they caught him his blood was clean and they could not charge him with BUI, but at least they had other laws to charge him with. It's good to give Law Enforcement as many options as possible for getting thugs like this off our lakes.

You should read the article to get your facts straight. First of all, he was going 135 km/h, not MPH. That translates to 81 MPH.
"The cigarette boat hit 135 km/h and the U.S. Coast Guard could only watch it fly into Canadian waters."

Secondly, seeing as this is in a speed limit thread, you imply that he was charged with some kind of speeding violation. However, you can see that he was not.
"He was charged with dangerous operation of a vessel and released on bail."

Doesn't New Hampshire have some kind of reckless operation law?

Thanks for posting that link. It is good to know that other bodies of water don't have the need for speed limits, either.