NEWPORT BEACH ― “Fast and Furious,” a film featuring a subculture of speeding cars and loud music, just released its most recent installment out in theaters this spring. Is there a version of “Fast and Furious” actually playing out on our local waters? With more and more users of various...
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2 Responses
Great article. Respect on the water is needed. The challenge is that people who rent boats, may not ( and most likely don’t) have the proper training on the Rules of the Road as it pertains to boating. There really should be some requirement for the benefit of all boaters and their safety.
We desperately need rules and strict enforcement for the SUPs, Kayakers, and, those small sailboats that are primarily operated by those who rent them—and seem to have no respect for their safety or for others’. Many times SUPs and Kayakers string out, side by side and take up the whole harbor. The small sailboats zip back and forth with no regard for anyone. They act with impunity, believing if there is an accident it will be the fault of the power boater—who generally is the only one with any common sense. The rental companies have the false impression that a signed waiver relieves them from liability. That waiver is worth about as much as the paper it is written on. The Harbor Patrol needs to crack down on these people and start handing out fines instead of simply instructing them on the rules—that’s the job of the rental companies. Ignorance of the law should not be an excuse. And, by the way, from what I understand, in court the human and wind powered craft do not have the “right-a-way” as they believe. It has finally been adjudicated to be the fault of the person who could more easily have avoided the accident—in other words—common sense now dictates the party at fault.