BoatCop
Retired And Loving It.
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2007
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- 5,395
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There's been discussion of lighting along the Parker Strip. I just want to put out the facts regarding the subject.
1) Who would install and maintain the lights?
In order to mark a Federal Waterway, either with shore lights or buoys (called Navigation "Aids"), there would need to be approval by the US Coast Guard. The lights would be required to be installed and maintained by a Government Agency.
But who?
Along the California side, you have BLM, State of California, San Bernardino County and CRIT. Arizona, you have BLM, State of Arizona, La Paz County & CRIT. Who would step up and do this and where would the money come to install and maintain them? So far, no one has the ability, funds or insurance authorization to do so.
Once an aid is placed, the entity that placed it is required to maintain it through perpetuity (that means forever, for those of you in the 909). If an aid is off station or a light is out, and not promptly re-set or re-lit, and an accident occurs, the entity that is responsible for it, can be sued for negligence.
Not to mention, publishing brochures, maps, charts, etc. that describe where the aid is, what it's characteristics are (color, height, flash interval, etc)
2) Vandalism
Everyone has seen the buoys already located on the Strip. Including the boom barriers up by the dam. They are covered by various stickers, labels and other junk that idiots have stuck on them. I'll even bet that some on here who are saying we need lights or aids out here are responsible for some of those stickers. Not to mention that lights themselves and their solar systems are frequently stolen or purposefully damaged. The no-wake buoys marking the entrances to the Keys are perfect examples. (A homeowners association, like in the Moovalya Keys, is considered a quasi-government agency for navigation aid purposes, as they control a portion of the waterway.)
3) Navigation in general.
Night time navigation relies on the operators night vision. A person who takes sufficient time to let their vision become accustomed to the dark would have no problem navigating the River, even in pitch black. Unfortunately, too many people leave the bar, their house, campsite (lit up with flood lights) and just go. It takes a minimum of 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust. Who ever takes that time?
4) Would they help?
Lake Havasu is very well marked along the Arizona Shore. There are range lights, showing the center channel of the lake, all the way from Thompson Bay to Havasu Springs. In areas where the lake curves, and range lights are impractical, the points are marked with red lights. (Pilot Rock, for example). These lights are frequently being shot out, broken with rocks, and their power systems stolen ot otherwise vandalized.
And even when they are all working perfectly, boats still crash into the shoreline. Sometimes directly into the rocks below the lights themselves.
Conclusion.
The main issue is speed. Like most other collisions, speed a primary factor. No new laws are required. There are already laws on the books regulating speed:
"ARS 5-343. Speed restrictions; excessive wake
No person shall operate a watercraft in excess of the posted limit or at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing. In every event, speed shall be so controlled as may be necessary to avoid colliding with any person or other watercraft, swamping other watercraft or otherwise endangering the lives or property of other persons."
Now throw in alcohol, which impairs judgment, affects the ability to discern red from green lights, impairs depth perception, and all the other factors, and you have crashes.
The question is, how do we enforce it? Who decides what is "reasonable and prudent". WE know when a boat is going too fast for the conditions. But if WE are left to decide that 25 MPH or 35 MPH is too fast, we will get flack from you "experts" out there, not to mention being grilled by a defense attorney after we issue a citation. In order to say a speed is "too fast", we have to testify what that speed is. We do have radar available, but they aren't really effective in detecting fiberglass boats.
Or do we just wait for a crash to happen and THEN take enforcement action. (Been there, done that)
1) Who would install and maintain the lights?
In order to mark a Federal Waterway, either with shore lights or buoys (called Navigation "Aids"), there would need to be approval by the US Coast Guard. The lights would be required to be installed and maintained by a Government Agency.
But who?
Along the California side, you have BLM, State of California, San Bernardino County and CRIT. Arizona, you have BLM, State of Arizona, La Paz County & CRIT. Who would step up and do this and where would the money come to install and maintain them? So far, no one has the ability, funds or insurance authorization to do so.
Once an aid is placed, the entity that placed it is required to maintain it through perpetuity (that means forever, for those of you in the 909). If an aid is off station or a light is out, and not promptly re-set or re-lit, and an accident occurs, the entity that is responsible for it, can be sued for negligence.
Not to mention, publishing brochures, maps, charts, etc. that describe where the aid is, what it's characteristics are (color, height, flash interval, etc)
2) Vandalism
Everyone has seen the buoys already located on the Strip. Including the boom barriers up by the dam. They are covered by various stickers, labels and other junk that idiots have stuck on them. I'll even bet that some on here who are saying we need lights or aids out here are responsible for some of those stickers. Not to mention that lights themselves and their solar systems are frequently stolen or purposefully damaged. The no-wake buoys marking the entrances to the Keys are perfect examples. (A homeowners association, like in the Moovalya Keys, is considered a quasi-government agency for navigation aid purposes, as they control a portion of the waterway.)
3) Navigation in general.
Night time navigation relies on the operators night vision. A person who takes sufficient time to let their vision become accustomed to the dark would have no problem navigating the River, even in pitch black. Unfortunately, too many people leave the bar, their house, campsite (lit up with flood lights) and just go. It takes a minimum of 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust. Who ever takes that time?
4) Would they help?
Lake Havasu is very well marked along the Arizona Shore. There are range lights, showing the center channel of the lake, all the way from Thompson Bay to Havasu Springs. In areas where the lake curves, and range lights are impractical, the points are marked with red lights. (Pilot Rock, for example). These lights are frequently being shot out, broken with rocks, and their power systems stolen ot otherwise vandalized.
And even when they are all working perfectly, boats still crash into the shoreline. Sometimes directly into the rocks below the lights themselves.
Conclusion.
The main issue is speed. Like most other collisions, speed a primary factor. No new laws are required. There are already laws on the books regulating speed:
"ARS 5-343. Speed restrictions; excessive wake
No person shall operate a watercraft in excess of the posted limit or at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing. In every event, speed shall be so controlled as may be necessary to avoid colliding with any person or other watercraft, swamping other watercraft or otherwise endangering the lives or property of other persons."
Now throw in alcohol, which impairs judgment, affects the ability to discern red from green lights, impairs depth perception, and all the other factors, and you have crashes.
The question is, how do we enforce it? Who decides what is "reasonable and prudent". WE know when a boat is going too fast for the conditions. But if WE are left to decide that 25 MPH or 35 MPH is too fast, we will get flack from you "experts" out there, not to mention being grilled by a defense attorney after we issue a citation. In order to say a speed is "too fast", we have to testify what that speed is. We do have radar available, but they aren't really effective in detecting fiberglass boats.
Or do we just wait for a crash to happen and THEN take enforcement action. (Been there, done that)
you off followed buy a wave and a handshake. Keep up the good job and dont mind the experts. None of them would know there way around a ticket book anyways
