I'm sure like anything else, there are people with better ability than others. Certainly boating has it's novices and experienced boaters. Think of the people that are completely new to boating. I wrote on another thread what I though of the Boater Ed characterizations of docking maneuvers. Well, just this summer, at my very own marina, I've witnessed a few boaters doing just as their little video suggested. Funny how it worked in the cartoon
I did assist and help them out before they totaled every boat within two boat lengths. They did exactly as instructed though.
But picture this group. Never been on a boat, or certainly never have driven one. Their only assistance is a well-run marina, a helpful friend that can show them the ropes, or just wing it. This brings up an interesting point regarding the 150' rule. As I've suggested before, most people couldn't show you 150' if their lives depended on it. I prefer to use the term "safe distance". just get acclimated to a range of the infamous 150' and try to get a mental picture of it. Farther is always better. For newbies, this is especially true.
As much as I may not want to, I try to wave to all boaters. I say try, because there's no way I'll wave to that SOB that practically dumped me in the water as his little cruiser plowed by my anchored boat.
There are no TV public service ads that I know of showing proper behavior, except the wall to wall BUI ones they run occasionally. Perhaps since no accidents are being reported, it's really more of an annoyance than a real problem. Of course, some people have more common sense than others, and some are less arrogant than others. Coming into my own marina, a 30' sailboat coming directly at me, was piloted by an interesting man. I was up against the headway only markers on starboard side, he was in the middle of the channel, under power, doing about 10-12 mph, on my port side but heading towards me
I put my boat into neutral and watched. He swung by my port side, and yelled out "SAILBOATS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY DUMBA$$". When back at port, I nicely explained tom this seasoned expert that he was wrong. He was not only going too fast in the channel, but he was not operating in a safe manner, intending fully to cut me off in a channel, I had to stop thinking a collision was imminent. He didn't agree and uttered some profainty. I didn't happen to look in the sailboat to see if there were any shiny CD's in there
Point is, attitude is a big part of the stress levels out there nowadays, has been for awhile now. There are people that get the shakes when reading about someone on plane at night, and those that simply don't appear to care what they do, just so long as you get out of their way. I personally don't want to be in either group.
The laws are/were pretty easy to understand. Basically, use some common sense, be cautious in traffic, know where you are, keep a lookout, don't get drunk. And be Nice. This isn't enough for some of the more paranoid I know. But mostly, it's the truth.