I don't hate the idea and don't know why it has been so long coming? It can be very dangerous out there and there are a lot of people that just don't "get it". I will qualify that by saying that most of us (meaning the larger tonnage vessels) *DO* pay attention to our surroundings because A) we know what damage larger boats like ours can do & B) Our boats are our "babies". They are expensive to fix and we have all put many hundreds of blood, sweat, and tears into keeping them up.
No, like someone said earlier, the majority of accidents and deaths, by a wide margin, are the smaller sport, skiff, bay, and small fishing boat owners. I call them "boat owners" and not "boaters", not to be derogatory, but because they have a boat... grab the pickup truck and ten friends... and throw it in any body of water, they think they can do whatever they please. Most don't embrace the lifestyle of being a boater. My apologies if I offend anyone here because I really am painting with a broad brush.
Many go out Willy Nilly without any regard to weather or sea conditions in boats that HAVE NO BUSINESS and WERE NOT DESIGNED for the body of water they are in. They don't pay any attention to nav aids or understand rules of the road or who is the stand-on vessel when underway. Many don't have, or don't monitor, a VHF radio. They have a $2000 fishing reel and no chart plotter. They bring onboard a cooler of water and a pallet of Miller Lite.
I have a friend who has owned many boats since we were kids and NEVER knew why inlets were sometimes impossible to get thru in their 18' Dixie (example). Just last year I explained to him about tide and winds and what is really going on and it was like I told him Santa Clause wasn't real! Anyway, I see people in crowded turning basins letting their 8 year-old kid drive. I see boats, clearly designed for four people, loaded with six, eight, or more AND enough camping gear to scale Mount Everest. I'm certainly not surprising anyone here. Y'all have seen it all and probably way worse.
Hey, I won't say I remember everything I learned 5 years ago in the USCG course we took (and I was planning on a refresher sooner-or-later) nor do I don't pretend that a program like the one in CA will work to end boating accidents. However, like the driver's license program, it does, at least, give a MINIMAL amount of comfort to me and does put SOME liability back onto the operators.
). Do you think the 50% that failed were unqualified or unsafe? They graduated from an accredited dental school and passed their National boards.
