Runaway Nautique!

[TGoss]

I am sure the odds are against the younger crowd making good decisions. Unfortunate. Its evident when I go to Florida and rent a boat for the day. The place wont let my 24 year old son handle the boat. Its hard to understand as he has been around boats all of his life. So they will rent a boat to a 40 year old that has never driven a boat but he cant be behind the wheel at 24 with lots of experience. That tells me they have figured out that young people make poor decisions...That has to be driven by insurance and factual data.

The two recent horrific accidents are a good reminder to us all to be safe out there.

[MTRBTR]

I have seen some pretty irresponsible 50-year-old boaters.

[obd666]

In the state of North Carolina, anyone under the age of 26 has to complete a boaters safety course to operate any vessel of 10 hp or greater, including jet skis. I for one have always thought this was a great idea, especially as it pertains to jet skis, My son got his license when he was 12 and he's now 16. Can drive a ski or wake boat better than most adults.

It wouldn't have necessarily changed the outcome in the Indiana incident, but maybe it could have if she had taken a course on safety, etc ...

[srock]

If you have ever loaded your boat to the nameplate capacity, you know that 10 to 16 passengers is a joke and operator nightmare unless you are on a slow sightseeing cruise.

I have also seen plenty of "not my kid" failures but you have to give them the reigns and risk failure but I will not be a naive parent and believe any good or capable kids is immune to poor decisions when on his own. Under the influence of peer pressure many capable and "good" kids make poor decisions when Daddy is not there to watch over. I try to teach independence, independent thinking and that the true judgement of character is ultimately the person who chooses the tougher road to higher ground.

My 10 year old can drive the course better than my wife, private lake with me standing co pilot, but I hope when his is old enough to take the reins alone he does not make horrible decisions. He is an outstanding baseball player, has raced motocross in front of 65,000 people and is an honor student. However, not for a second do I think these badges will keep him from making poor decisions. I also have a concern for the impact of adolescence and the onslaught of hormones.

In a split second of distraction I almost ran over someone on my college ski team. After 30 years I can vividly remember that horrifying moment and when my boat is loaded I am extremely aware. Hopefully this incident is a scared straight moment for all those young persons involved.

[srock]

I am sure the odds are against the younger crowd making good decisions. Unfortunate. Its evident when I go to Florida and rent a boat for the day. The place wont let my 24 year old son handle the boat. Its hard to understand as he has been around boats all of his life. So they will rent a boat to a 40 year old that has never driven a boat but he cant be behind the wheel at 24 with lots of experience. That tells me they have figured out that young people make poor decisions...That has to be driven by insurance and factual data.

The two recent horrific accidents are a good reminder to us all to be safe out there.

This is an insurance driven issue. Same as you see for car rental companies with under 25 drivers.

[Sailfun]

She actually and I agree age "should" have nothing to do with it. My kids were all better/safer boat drivers by age 16 then many veteran boat drivers I have known!!

Pretty scary stuff, quite lucky the outcome was not worse, sad story for all involved.

Your kids may or may not be as safe as you think. Everyone thinks their kids are the exception to the rule. Peer pressure is incredibly powerful influence for teenagers. Very few have the ability to resist it. Peer pressure leads to dumb things.

[Quinner]

Really?? As a parent you are likely to run across the "everyone" types you are referring but I certainly would not say ALL parents act in that way
Education, mentoring and preparation vs a hope and a prayer as parental tools will go a long way in reducing the odds of kids making poor choices. Spent the hours doing all of the above for every motorized machine they operated, Enrolled them in boating safety/license courses just as I did at their age and I am not naive to what people are capable of. Hand them the keys + gas card is entirely different then giving them all the tools you can to help them make good choices.