Life after speed limits

[Island Lover]

Originally Posted by codeman671

I am not sure what planet the lake you kayak is on, but boats are not traveling at "unlimited" speeds" per se. When I hear you say "unlimited" it makes Winnipesaukee sound like boats are traveling at 100mph+ recklessly wherever and whenever they go. This is simply not the case. The average boat on the lake IMHO travels below 55mph. Sure, there are exceptions but rarely do you see boats flying around at 80mph+. It takes an ungodly amount of HP and money to break the 80mph mark, even though money is not an issue in the lakes region the number of boats capable of going that fast is limited. Silver Sands for instance dropped Fountain and only has 1 used boat that will exceed 80mph on the lot. I pick 80mph as it is the top speed of the typical twin engine big block powered (but stock) GFBL sold on the lake without serious mods.

At this point almost all the performance boat lines are not even being sold on the lake.

Some of the opposition arguments are getting ludicrous. Why do you keep pretending there is some kind of speed limit already? Who are you trying to convince? There is no speed limit on Winnipesaukee! This is a fact. When you start talking about no wake zones and reckless operation regulations as if they were speed limits you make yourself look silly. And, in truth, very desperate.

[Woodsy]

Originally Posted by Island Lover

Some of the opposition arguments are getting ludicrous. Why do you keep pretending there is some kind of speed limit already? Who are you trying to convince? There is no speed limit on Winnipesaukee! This is a fact. When you start talking about no wake zones and reckless operation regulations as if they were speed limits you make yourself look silly. And, in truth, very desperate.

Island Lover...

Your ignorance of the rules & regulations is absolutely astounding!!

There are numerous rules and regulations pertaining to EXACTLY how fast a boat is ALLOWED to travel during CERTAIN situations! A NWZ is a SPEED LIMIT! The 150' Safe Passage Rule is a SPEED LIMIT! In fact the very definition of both of those rules SPECIFICALLY STATE a MAXIMUM SPEED OF 6 MILES PER HOUR. Sounds like a speed limit to me!

RECKLESS OPERATION laws are there to protect you from a Capt. Bonehead. It is an INTENTIONALLY BROAD STATUTE designed to cover a myriad of bad behavior.... For example, the MP witness a boat traveling at 45 MPH that violates your 150' bubble by a small margin, lets say they come within 100' of you. Thats a no brainer, they get pulled over and get a warning on the 150' rule...

Same Bonehead, same scenario but instead he violates your bubble by a big margin, lets say he is 15' away from you traveling at 45MPH... this is where the Reckless Operation Statute comes into play! Now he could possibly be arrested and punished in a far more severe manner!

Woodsy

[parrothead]

Couldn't agree more, that the concerns that caused this speed limit to be proposed can be covered by existing laws. Everyone on both sides of this argument agrees that enforcement is an issue on Winni. But the pro-speed limit crowd keeps repeating that enforcement is a dream because it costs money. I'm tired of hearing that as an excuse for why enforcement can't be increased. If we as a community had pushed for better enforcement of our waterways, instead of a temporary fix, then perhaps things could be better. The speed limit is a way for the government can say that something was done, when in fact it is not going to make much of a difference. Sure there may be a few weeks of boats slowing down, but when you can go most of a day and not see an MP boat, then the speeds will go back up. The law has no teeth without enforcement, and we don't have enough of an MP presence on the lake to enforce the current laws as well as new ones. Also I think that better enforcement of current laws would actually cut down on the congestion. As the pro-speed crowd keeps saying that the speed limit will cause high speed boaters from coming to lake, so will an increased enforcement presence. If you want to come to Winni and party it up and drive like a bonehead, you are going to be stopped and fined. This is going to be more of a deterrent than a speed limit. Winni could get the reputation of being a place that you have to drive carefully, because otherwise you will get stopped. I just feel that we lost a chance to actually make a difference to our waterways. The speed limit is nothing more than a band-aid fix for a bigger problem.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Woodsy

"...For example, the MP witness a boat traveling at 45 MPH that violates your 150' bubble by a small margin, lets say they come within 100' of you. Thats a no brainer, they get pulled over and get a warning on the 150' rule..."

Even I, acting as an MP officer, wouldn't attempt a stop (to give a warning) to an estimated 50' error. That's 'way too subjective a call.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by Island Lover

Some of the opposition arguments are getting ludicrous. Why do you keep pretending there is some kind of speed limit already? Who are you trying to convince? There is no speed limit on Winnipesaukee! This is a fact. When you start talking about no wake zones and reckless operation regulations as if they were speed limits you make yourself look silly. And, in truth, very desperate.

Desperate? I think not. I have no stake in this fight. It won't affect me a bit. I could personally care less at this point however think that enacting a speed limit is wrong and will not solve anything.

I am sick and tired of people making false claims that a speed limit IS necessary. The accident "data" does not support it, the speed limit survey did not support it, the survey here did not support it, the only thing that supports it is the campaign of lies and deceit that the supporters have put together to influence people that do not know better...

[Skipper of the Sea Que]

Island Lover. Reasonable and safe speed is covered in the regulations. As for the lack of any speed limits on the Lake I'll let Bear Islander answer that one for you :

Originally Posted by Island Lover

Some of the opposition arguments are getting ludicrous. Why do you keep pretending there is some kind of speed limit already? Who are you trying to convince? There is no speed limit on Winnipesaukee! This is a fact. When you start talking about no wake zones and reckless operation regulations as if they were speed limits you make yourself look silly. And, in truth, very desperate.

Now let's look at Bear Islander message 134 above responding to chipj29

Originally Posted by Bear Islander

Sorry, perhaps you are not aware there is a speed limit in front of my cabin.

That's Bear Islander's cabin on Bear Island near the NWZ.

BTW, this is an interesting part but I don't have time to follow it all the way back. chipj29 and BI were talking about BI's observation that when an MP boat is around, boaters seem to behave. And in the above message BI quotes,
Originally Posted by chipj29 View Post
Gilligan stated that now (according to BI) , even without a speed limit, the presence of MP slows boats down. (from that Gilligan concludes) Imagine that...they are somehow enforcing a law that doesn't exist.

Better enforcement of the current laws just makes sense.

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by Skipper of the Sea Que

Island Lover. Reasonable and safe speed is covered in the regulations. As for the lack of any speed limits on the Lake I'll let Bear Islander answer that one for you :



Now let's look at Bear Islander message 134 above responding to chipj29
That's Bear Islander's cabin on Bear Island near the NWZ.

BTW, this is an interesting part but I don't have time to follow it all the way back. chipj29 and BI were talking about BI's observation that when an MP boat is around, boaters seem to behave. And in the above message BI quotes,
Originally Posted by chipj29 View Post
Gilligan stated that now (according to BI) , even without a speed limit, the presence of MP slows boats down. (from that Gilligan concludes) Imagine that...they are somehow enforcing a law that doesn't exist.

Better enforcement of the current laws just makes sense.

It's been the Obvious answer for some time. BI wants the boats gone because they tick him off. Fine. I can't look back through hundreds of posts to see how many times he's complained about the NWZ violation. If it were me, it would be daily.

But the fact that it's there, and not enforced, speaks volumes to those that actually care about the issue. Unfortunately, it will take a major accident someday to awaken them as to the stupidity of their ways, and their wasted time and effort trying to feel good by pushing a cause. It has nothing to do with results.

In the end, Enforcement and funding will become their next cause. It should have been their first. Same old crap. Enjoy the BIG Waves.

[Airwaves]

Originally posted by VtSteve
In the end, Enforcement and funding will become their next cause. It should have been their first. Same old crap.

Unfortunately because of all the misdirections, lies and down right fear mongering that has been completely unjustified and not backed up with any fact it will be like the little boy who cried wolf as far as Concord is concerned!