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Miami 4th of July Fatal Boating Accident

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by RER, Jul 5, 2014.

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  1. RER

    RER Senior Member

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    2014 brings us another 4th of July post fireworks fatal boating accident. This time in Miami, near Dinner Key. Three boats involved. 4 people reported dead. A dozen injured.
  2. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Not surprising. I live at DKM, spend a lot of time sailing outside the marina and the boat I run is docked next door. We also spend a lot of time on the bay at night.

    Frankly I m not surprised and personally I think the USCG, FWC, and local PDs are responsible for this deaths as they don't seem to give a number two about safety.

    Overall I woudl say that half the boats under 50' we see at night have at least one missing nav light. Many are running with bright cockpit light, you know those "cool" colorful LEDs as well as un dimmed electronics making them blind as bats.

    All FWC care about is fishing rules, protecting sea grass and make sure you have the proper sticker on the boat

    Every week end we see guys coming back in the channel too fast, with missing lights, throwing wakes in the marina. Ever been passed by a jet ski doing 40 kts in pitch dark? We have...

    Yet, law enforcement never patrols the area.

    At were out for the fireworks at bayside (downtown ) in charter. Anchored early and left about 30 minutes after the firework ended to mKe sure the nuts HD already left. We didn't go back home to the grove but anchored by marine staidum. It s a short ride over and in that time I came upon THREE small boats with no lights. At 7 kts with radar and paying attention I saw them with plenty time but I can see how idiots running on plane on a busy night can hit them.

    USCG and FWC need to get their priorities straight and start enforcing existing rules starting with lights and failure to maintain proper speed for the condition. N tickets needed... Force them to watch pictures of the victims.

    It's the fourth fatal accident in a month on biscayne bay...
  3. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Cops can't be everywhere, and there certainly aren't enough of them to start writing tickets on every flying A who comes out for the fireworks. Besides, no running lights is a waste of time to write up. All a person need say is that it just went out or tell the court it was fixed the next day and the cop has wasted his day off and our tax dollars going to court. I think they're probably more geared up for the search & recues that will inevitably come up. People have to take personal responsibility for their actions. Jail sentences and law suits that take their last dime make for good lessons.

    I used to book for all the fireworks displays up in Lauderdale back in the day. My first time running through the inlet with a thousand other boats taught me well, and (like you) I hense forth made it a point of letting all the people in a rush to die go in before raising my anchor.
  4. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    You don't need to write tickets for guys with no lights... Just force them to spend 10 minutes watching pictures of accidents like this, including pictures of the bodies...

    No, they can't be everywhere but on a July 4 and dec 31 they need to be out there. Besides the area next to the fireworks, the big traffic jam spots are the rickenbacker cUseway where they have a couple of boat, and then the 3 dinner Key channels. There are 5 marinas served by these channels, with over 1000 boats plus some very busy ramps.

    Unfortunately jail sentences and lawsuits don't really help because most people don't even hear about it. A set of flashing blue light does get noticed even by the drunkest idiot
  5. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Around here nobody doesn't here about the consequences. We've had a few 15 year and even life sentences. It gets good media coverage. That's what's needed, stiff penalties and good media coverage.
    Again though I'm sure the PD and C G had every available asset on the water or standing by for the 4th of July, but the taxpayers only pay for so much.
  6. Opcn

    Opcn Senior Member

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    The psychological research indicates that small, unavoidable fines for infractions do the most to change behavior. If there is a big problem with people running without lights, then the enforcement body citing them for $50-150, and the judge not throwing it out will do a lot to stop them. You don't have to wait until people die to start enforcement, and people are more likely to believe that a $50 ticket could happen to them than they are to believe that they could kill someone.

    That kind of stiff enforcement is why Seattle doesn't have any jaywalkers to speak of. Even when they were a mod in the streets after the superbowl they waited for the lights to turn! Your running lights just went out? Well too bad, guess you have to face the ticket, maybe you should keep them in better working order so you don't rick that happening again. Got them fixed the next day? Good, then you wont get another ticket tomorrow. Having reasonable laws and enforcing them is good for civil order, and gets good results. Just cranking up the penalties doesn't do nearly as much as spreading them out to all violators.
  7. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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  8. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Gad I hate to hear of these things.

    A few years ago (ft laud) Some boat was run over by another after dark. A few years before that, same story near LW. Nav lights were questioned.
    I have witness extra enforcement (harassment) down the FL east coast since (on nav light issues).

    We can carry on about law enforcement, boat labels & safety plaques, LED lights, PFDs, education and alcohol.

    When can we start convicting people of being stupid and unsafe in public???
  9. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Going wild with ticket writing would have great benefit. It's not the cost. It's the inconvenience, making them think.

    There is one more huge gain in ticketing the somewhat small things like lights. It gives you the chance to ascertain more. Pull up to discuss that and see if you detect alcohol on the operator's breath or the smell of weed. Minor traffic stops often lead to more and minor boat checks can do the same. Often there's more than the light. Perhaps lack of PFD's or other safety equipment. You see a small boat running too close to other boats and pull it over. Odds are at least 50/50 the operator is drinking.
  10. Opcn

    Opcn Senior Member

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    I'm torn on calling it harassment. On the one hand, the negative connotation to something we should be doing makes it less likely that we will do it. On the other hand, harassing the crap out of them is definitely what we need. If they aren't going to observe the basic safety rules boating should suck for them, until they change their minds and take the basic, easy, cheap, passive steps to be safe, or give it up forever.
  11. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I think an annual safety inspection in order to renew your annual registration would help a lot on the smaller boats.....50'<. You also can't fix idiots.....look at how many people in cars drive around with 1 tail light or none, 1 headlight, etc.....
  12. RT46

    RT46 Senior Member

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    terrible tragedy.

    very sad.
  13. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    If these annual inspections are as good as th USCG aux safety inspection where they give you a shiny new safe vessel sticker, good luck!

    You can pass it without an anchor, without bilge pumps, without dock lines, without charts, without a VHF...

    Maybe things will change, last night around 9pm I heard the noise off a jet ski coming back into the marina to the ramp,a pretty common occurrence on weekends. Well, this time the idiot was being escorted by a USCG small boats with blue lights flashing.
  14. SomeTexan

    SomeTexan Member

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    Won't help, they won't understand. Best solution is to quit helping them out. Once natural selection/God's will (choose the one you like) takes place, the stupid ones will be out of the gene pool. Only then will stupidity go away.

    I had coast guard check my ski boat at the lake a few years back, they told me I was the one boat they checked that was good, and I was the only person they had ever encountered that had taken the Texas water safety program. I did that so I could ride jetski's at 12, instead of 16. I watched the same guys haul off a whole family later that day that thought it was ok to let their 7 year old ride their jet ski alone. She hit and killed a wakeboarder, and the parents didnt think it was their fault. People that are that uncaring about their fellow man have no right to waste oxygen that could be used by decent humans.
  15. tonyp1203

    tonyp1203 New Member

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    Education is the key (and I don't mean an internet based course). I am continually amazed at why Florida does not require boating licenses. As it stands now, any yahoo with a little bit of money or a co-signer can get his hands on an 70 mph center console and be zipping around the bay in a few hours with absolutely no knowledge or training. You can't place all the blame on Law Enforcement. Responsibility for safe operation needs to be placed on the boat operator and the State of Florida needs to mandate education and licensure for anyone at the helm of any power driven boat regardless of horsepower or size.
  16. Capt Bill11

    Capt Bill11 Senior Member

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    The problem with that plan is that the stupid people are killing innocent people before the stupid ones are out of the gene pool.
  17. SomeTexan

    SomeTexan Member

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    Part of quit helping them out is quit protecting them from the people they endanger. I will use what force is needed to protect myself from an idiot, but then I will have to deal with legal issues. Why should I? We are supposed to have the right to protect ourselves and others, but you will be punished if you do. End that bs, and the people will handle the idiots. The only reason people like that are around is because they are protected.
  18. Opcn

    Opcn Senior Member

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    So your proposal is to turn pleasure boating into a kind of war game? I'm sure that wont be stressful at all.
  19. Old Phart

    Old Phart Senior Member

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    I dunno
    Hence, the term Pleasure Boating. ;)
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