Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelnut
The debate revolves around a House Bill regarding a SPEED LIMIT. The people who oppose a speed limit have hard facts and statistics as to why there is no reason or need for a speed limit.
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Just because now one has been killed or hurt by a highspeed powerboat is not proof that high speed boats are not creating a dangerous problem on the lake.
And the data that was collected last summer by the marine patrol is not proof that speed isn't a problem on Winni. (During those 11 weeks speed was only recorded during less than 2% of the daylight hours, on on select portions of the lake, and that fact that speeds were being recorded, as well as the 2 main areas were well publicized). According to everything I know about data collection (and I have taken a university course in research methodology, last summers MP study was not what any expert would consider to be a viable study.
There's another major factor: [b]No agency keeps track of close calls.[b/] I have had close calls with high-speed boats on Winni (that were going faster then 45 and that came way closer than 150 feet frome me). Others have stated that they have had similar close calls.
And here is a hard fact:
The faster you are going, the further you will travel in the time that it takes you to react. That is a safey issue. I have had my 150 foot zone violated because the operators were traveling faster than their ability to see me.
For me and for many others this is ONLY about safety. Yet when I state my reasons here, I'm accused of exagerating or even of lying. I'm told that I must not be a very good judge of speed or of distance (when I happen to be an excellent judge of both).
I have only spoken to 4 MPs about a lake speed limit law, but all 4 wanted a lake speed limit. When that previous bill was in the House (which would have enacted a speed limit on all NH waters) I spoke with 2 Coast Guard officers, and they both were in favor of the bill. Both the MP and the CG members told me that they saw a speed limit law as a "necessary tool".
This is not about pushing any type of boat off the lake - it is about slower the fastest boats down to a safer speed. Fast boats do not belong on the lake - unless their operaters are willing to slow down. 45 mph is a fast speed on water. In my opinion, if you feel like you need to go faster than that, go to the coast. It is not all that far away.