The Coast Guard commandant's words raise concerns with the MRAA, which says the boating public will be unnecessarily burdened by a formal licensing requirement.
excerpts:
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During a speech Allen made to the National Conference of State Legislatures last December, Allen said the potential for a terrorist attack launched from small boats means that states and the Coast Guard must cooperate better to watch who is on the nation's waterways.
Although Allen didn't have details or formal recommendations for how a national permit system would work, he said he would like to see boating licenses be similar to motor vehicle driver's licenses.
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In response to Allen's call for mandatory boater licensing, Robert Soucy, chairman of the Marine Retailers Association of America (MRAA), said in a Feb. 8 letter to Allen that the association opposed mandatory operator licensing.
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"A national boating license program does nothing to improve boating safety or reduce terrorism, but does place a huge burden on the American public," Soucy said.
"We are also concerned that forcing states to impose a license program would be an unfunded mandate that is both unfair and a violation of states' rights.
"MRRA does believe it is imperative that all other avenues of gaining safety on the water be explored and suggests dealers can do more to encourage boat operator education and to promote year-long safety awareness programs," Soucy said.
quote:
In December, the Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatU.S.) said it was wary of Allen's licensing idea.
"Mandatory education is one thing. We're not opposed to having people take a course," said Chris Edmonston, the association's director of boating safety. "But we wouldn't want to see it turn into a license that could be restricted or taken away."
quote:
The latest support for Allen's call for mandatory operator licensing came from the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The support in the form of a non-binding resolution passed unanimously during the Auxiliary National Training Conference in St. Louis in January urges state legislatures to require mandatory boating safety education, regardless of age. It supplements a resolution passed in 2003 that suggested that boating safety education be required for anyone under the age 16 operating a powerboat or personal watercraft.
The above is not surprising and would be expected. The only real news would have been if the Aux hadn't backed the idea.
And our push for mandatory boater ed hasn't worked out for us - since once the states made boat ed mandatory they also had to provide it at low or no cost. And the long term results of that are what the long running RBS thread is all about.
In December, the Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatU.S.) said it was wary of Allen's licensing idea.
"Mandatory education is one thing. We're not opposed to having people take a course," said Chris Edmonston, the association's director of boating safety. "But we wouldn't want to see it turn into a license that could be restricted or taken away."
Wonder how he feels about a DUI causing someone to lose a license??
Just got the latest issue of BoatU.S. Magazine, and this matter is the subject of the editorial. Guess which way BoatU.S. leans? Here's one excerpt: "If the Coast Guard believes that it needs to be able to verify the identity of the operator of a vessel or any of its passengers, all it has to do is ask to see a state driver's license. These licenses are slated to be significantly 'hardened' under legislation passed by Congress." Another excerpt: "There are many additional ways for the Coast Guard to access information on a vessel or its operator including state boat registration numbers affixed to the hull of nearly all vessels, the Coast Guard's own vessel documentation database, MMSI and FCC registration databases as well as Customs decal registration. Do we really need another paper bureaucracy in the name of national security?" The editorial concludes, "We owe him [the Commandant] a reply and, most importantly, some well thought-out alternatives."
Automobile operators are required to complete basic driver education classes. But many drivers operate vehicles in a way unsafe to themselves, their passengers, to other drivers, and even stationary property. Imagine how bad it would be without drivers licenses.
If licensure isn't the issue, the security aspect could be handled by an educational certificate merely attesting to formal "expertise" training and providing identification. This would not be subject to withdrawal, but BUIs and other offenses can be handled as they are now.
An idea for encouraging boat safety with compliance and licensing:
1) Create a new class on each State Driver's License for boat operator. A person would have to produce a Boat Safety Class Certificate before granted the boat operator class.
2) Require all boat operators to have a valid Driver's license with a boat operator class on it.
3) All boating citations would result in demerits applied to that operator's Driver's License.
4) Motivation for safe boating and education is that demerits could increase their insurance rates and possibly revoke all their driving privileges.
Seems hard-handed to many but this is how Commercial, Motorhome, Motorcycle and even Moped classes on a Driver's License work. Why should boats be excluded?
What the hells drivin a car, truck, or motorcycle on tires on dry land got ONE THING ta do with safely driving a boat???
And WHY shoulda a boater be MANDATED to have a drivers license??
There is ABSOLUTELY no similarity between drivin a car and drivin a boat and the skill ta do one has NO impact or effect on the skill ta do the other-JRC
I agree that training should be required. But pashesma is right that boats and road vehicles operate in totally different ways. In fact, i think this view is part of the problem. Many new boaters think that boats drive like cars, and then get into trouble out on the water. Better to have states issue a separate boating license.
AuxDoc's suggestion is not uncommon. More and more, states use drivers license suspensions as punishment for activity unrelated to roadway driving. I dont think its fair or just.
The follow-up to BoatUS's position in the latest issues of BoatUS Magazine
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When all was said and done, the number of those opposing the Commandant’s suggested course of action outweighed those in favor by a factor of 10 to one. A representative sampling of these letters appears on pages 16-17.
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Since our editorial was published, the Coast Guard has announced that the Department of Homeland Security will be hosting a “Small Vessel Security Summit” in Washington, D.C. in late June. Representatives from recreational boating, small commercial and fishing vessels will be invited.
With this deadline fast approaching, it is imperative that we come up with viable alternatives to the two options that Coast Guard officials have floated — a license or some kind of required AIS (Automatic Identification System) device.
One such idea might be a nautical version of the Neighborhood Watch program which has been implemented by many communities around the country in recent years. In fact, there is such a program for our waterways and it’s called America’s Waterway Watch.
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Of course, the success of any such program depends on the level of involvement at the grassroots level and in the case of our waterways, a commitment by those responsible for law enforcement and national security to provide the resources to make the program work.
How many of you are aware that we already have such a program? How many have volunteered to be “eyes and ears?” How many know who or what number to call if suspicious activity is observed?
We suspect the answers to these questions are: Not many, not many and don’t know.
Case in point: The subject of America’s Waterway Watch program came up during a recent presentation by the Coast Guard to a group of nearly 150 boating writers. When asked, less than a handful knew the actual name of the program and nobody knew the actual number to call to report suspicious activity on the water (877-24WATCH).
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Before the powers-that-be decide to license every boater or require the purchase of expensive AIS equipment in order to gather information on law-abiding users of waterways, the Coast Guard should focus on enlisting the support of the boating public.
America’s Waterway Watch needs to be expanded well beyond the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Reserve to include tens of thousands of ordinary Americans.
A serious intelligence-gathering program of this magnitude would require Coast Guard brass to make Waterway Watch a priority and provide the command and control necessary to enable it to succeed.
But, given the Coast Guard’s modest support and backing for the program over the past few years, whether they are up to the task is questionable. Nonetheless, the concept needs to be explored as an alternative to the more bureaucratic and expensive approaches now being considered.
Perhaps a naive beginner's questions, but: would it not be possible to post near ramps and launches the way to contact the Flotilla whose AOR is a specific water way? I know this would take some doing, but might it not be possible. Again, please forgive my "newness" at Auxie operations.
During a speech Allen made to the National Conference of State Legislatures last December, Allen said the potential for a terrorist attack launched from small boats means that states and the Coast Guard must cooperate better to watch who is on the nation's waterways.
Although Allen didn't have details or formal recommendations for how a national permit system would work, he said he would like to see boating licenses be similar to motor vehicle driver's licenses.
Oh – I see. He thinks we need to put operator licensing in place because a terrorist would not drive a boat if he didn’t have a license. Right – that makes a lot of sense!
Don’t let ‘em have a license and they will play nice and not attack us without it. Those nice terrorist boys must sure be good kids if they play fair like that.
Perhaps a naive beginner's questions, but: would it not be possible to post near ramps and launches the way to contact the Flotilla whose AOR is a specific water way?
Many ramps already have this. The problem is that in many areas the Aux hasn't gotten the word out about AWW (America's Waterway Watch), th phone number to be called or what the program is. Putting that in the signboards you mention would be a good start.
Again, please forgive my "newness" at Auxie operations.
Just remember "we were all newbees once". Even me.
USA. Coast Guard Marine Safety unit Chicago to host outreach training program Thursday, 26 April 2007
CHICAGO - U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit will host the Sea Partners and America's Waterway Watch national outreach training program at the Shedd Aquarium on April 28-30, 2007.
This year's session will be the first time the Sea Partners' training program will be held at an aquarium, allowing participants to explore the aquarium and interact with aquarium staff.
This is also the first time the program will feature two complete training programs, one designed for the outreach coordinators and supervisors and one for volunteer members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, at one location.
Don’t let ‘em have a license and they will play nice and not attack us without it. Those nice terrorist boys must sure be good kids if they play fair like that.
