Blood on the Water

Boating can be fun. It can be deadly, too, particularly since so many people think that the only way to enjoy running about in a powerboat is with a can of beer in hand. During 1984 and 1985 the state Department of Boating and Waterways counted 52 boating deaths in accidents caused by intoxicated operators.

In one notable accident five young people were killed when their 20-foot-long craft rammed a concrete-and-steel buoy in the entrance to Anaheim Bay during a nighttime pleasure run in 1984. The boat was going 30-m.p.h. in a 5-m.p.h. zone, officials said. In a mistrial, a jury voted 9 to 3 for acquittal of the driver on a general manslaughter charge, but a retrial has been ordered. A drunk-boating charge was dismissed on a technicality.

It is possible to kill someone with a boat and face a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine, on a charge of negligent operation of a vessel, said state Sen. James W. Nielsen (R-Woodland).

Boating would be considerably safer, and more fun for all, under legislation proposed by Nielsen. His measure, Senate Bill 1509, would create the crime of manslaughter committed during the operation of a vessel. The offense, and punishment, would be similar to that of manslaughter while operating an automobile. Another provision would require the reporting of boating accidents in the same fashion as motorists are required to report auto accidents.

Nielsen proposed a minimum age of 12 for operating a boat propelled by a 10-horsepower motor or larger unless the youngster was supervised by an adult. The Senate Judiciary Committee went Nielsen one better and raised the age to 14.

The Nielsen bill also would make it easier for law officers to arrest boaters for operating while intoxicated. And a measure sponsored by Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) would apply provisions of the motor-vehicle drunk-driving law to boats. One prosecutor familiar with boating cases said that modernization of the drunk-boating law is overdue. “It’s where the drunk-driving law was 20 years ago,” he said.

Boat-safety legislation similar to Nielsen’s and Seymour’s is being sponsored in the lower house by Assemblyman Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton). The bills are strongly supported by the state Department of Boating and Waterways.

The record of boating accidents, and of penalties imposed, demonstrates that California law is far too casual toward drunken boat operators. The Nielsen bill and companion legislation deserve overwhelming support from the Legislature and the governor. Once in effect, there is certain to be far less blood shed on California’s waters.