Lt. Dunleavy, NHMP, responds....

[Evenstar]

Originally Posted by Skipper of the Sea Que

This quote from the Radar Thread
Evenstar, you have consistently claimed that your 150' space is violated by boaters who CAN NOT SEE you due to their excessive speed. I have no doubt that you honestly feel that way. One fallacy is that many of these boaters may actually see you and just not care. Another is that it's primarily boaters going over 45 mph that can not see you soon enough to avoid your 150' zone.

The speed limit will not prevent all unsafe behavior on the lake - and I've never sugested that it would.

But I do know that some power boat operators travel faster then their ability to see smaller boats in time to remain outside of the 150 foot zone. I am basing this on their surprised reaction, when they do finally spot me. Slower boats always seem to see me in plenty of time - it's the faster boats that are the problem in this situation - and a speed limit will in my opinion make this less likely to result in a serious accident.

People do intentionally violate the 150 foot rule all the time, but the violation of one law does not negate the need for a different law. Perhaps we do need a vision test as well. There's a great deal that can be done to make boating safer - in my opinion the speed limit is one of the needed steps in making the lake(s) safer for everyone.