A Question of Safety on Lake Lanier
An incident on Lake Lanier Friday, in which a personal watercraft injured two young children, at least one seriously, has brought back into question the safety about boating on our public waterways. Susan Mittleman has more.
Last Friday, an 11 year-old boy and a 15 year-old girl were hit by a Jet Ski on Lake Lanier while in an inner tube. The operator of the vehicle, Jeffrey Hubbard, has not been charged yet as the case is still under investigation.
In Georgia, you do not have to have a license to drive a boat, you just need to be at least 16 years old with a government-issued ID. And on lakes, there’s no traffic lanes and no speed limits.
“The first responsibility for safe boating is on the operator, not law enforcement.”
Major Stephen Adams, with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, says there are laws regulating watercraft safety, navigation, and operations, to keep people safe and able to enjoy boating. For example, the 100-foot law, requiring boats to idle if they’re within 100-feet of a boat, dock, or person in the water. Adams says the DNR believes education is the key to safety.
“Almost without exception, when a boating incident occurs it’s because someone was not following either a law or rule for safe boating.”
Conservation Rangers are working with county sheriff’s officers to enforce Georgia boating laws. At peak times, such as weekends and holidays, they have 3-5 boats patrolling Lake Lanier.
“I can tell you that we’re going to patrol, we’ll patrol and look to detect impaired operators and when we encounter those impaired operators we will arrest them and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”
Whether misdemeanors of felonies, all boating laws are considered criminal statutes. This year there’s been at least 39 BUI’s , boating under the influence, reported on Lake Lanier. There have also been at five deaths.
Some people are clamoring for new regulations such as requiring a license, like a driver’s license. Adams says anything to prove you know the laws of the lakes would have an impact.
“If the general assembly decides to pass something that requires education for boat operators, I think it would be a good thing.”
For More Information:
The Georgia Boating Safety Handbook (available online and as a downloadable PDF).
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