A few more boating rules wouldn't hurt anyone

Nationally accidents dropped an average of 13 percent over the past five years.

Statewide, accidents went in the opposite direction at almost the same rate. Over the five-year span, Alaska accidents are up 14 percent.

The Personal Watercraft Industry Association -- the jet ski people -- credits mandatory boater education for the improvements Outside.

"The personal watercraft industry has also helped enact laws at the state level that are effective in reducing accidents," spokeswoman Jennifer Hall said by e-mail.

These laws require PWC operators to pass a boating safety class, be at least 16 years old and drive only in daylight hours. The law also establishes no-wake zones within 100 feet of shore and punishes reckless operators.

"Education is critical," she said.

In 2006, there were 710 boating fatalities nationwide, nearly three-quarters of which occurred on boats where the operator had not taken a boating safety course.

Most accidents lead back to the operator, with inexperience, inattention and excessive speed among the chief causes. The leading types of accidents include collisions with other vessels and collisions with fixed objects such as docks or channel markers.

Alaskans, of course, know we don't need no mandatory education nor any of that pesky licensing, especially in the Bush.

Out there, young people especially die in disproportionate rates in boating accidents in summer and snowmachine accidents in winter. The state has never had a requirement for boating education, but it used to have a law requiring a license to operate a snowmobile. That was a leftover from an older, more safety-minded -- some might say more sensible -- Alaska.

When Alaska lawmakers found out in 2001 the law was still on the books, they got in a huff and promptly repealed it.

"I don't feel that it's a necessary government function to require a license to operate a snowmachine, particularly when it's on an off-road, rural area,'' said then Rep. Vic Kohring, R-Wasilla.

Sometimes it would seem our lawmakers think the only necessary government function in Alaska is to take money from oil companies and figure out ways to give it to Alaskans.

Kohring, of course, is now in prison. He got a little confused in the midst of this process and decided he could save everyone some trouble by just eliminating the middle man. So instead of waiting for the state to take money from oil field businesses and give it to him, he started accepting the handouts himself.

Maybe he'll come to his senses in prison and realize that though it may not be the job of government to protect Alaska adults from themselves, there is some government responsibility to protect children.

On some level, Alaska lawmakers seem to understand that. New Alaska drivers under age 18 are now saddled with a "provisional" driver's license that bans them from carrying passengers under age 21, except siblings, and prohibits them from driving between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Children under age 13 are now required to wear life jackets at all times in Alaska boats. And, of course, we're all required to wear our seat belts in a vehicle.

Only when you go off-road do the rules change. Disappear, that is.

If you can get that snowmachine up to 120 mph, more power to you. Whether you're 6 or 36, it doesn't matter. It's none of the state's business.

Never been at the controls of a high-performance jet boat? So what? Point the bow up the Little Susitna River and let her rip. If you run over someone else's skiff and sink it, well, what the heck. It's not like protection of people in cheap, little boats is a "necessary government function.''

Require your kid to actually learn to operate a four-wheeler under watchful adult supervision before taking it out for a spin? Wouldn't that be too much trouble?

Look, I am not a big regulation guy. If you're an adult and you want to do something that may hurt you, have at it.

State responsibility should not be vested in protecting you from yourself; it should be invested in protecting you from other drivers through sensible traffic laws.

Your kids, though, are a different matter. The state must show extra responsibility there because not all parents can be counted on. There are good parents, and there are bad parents. Parenting is a no-requirements-necessary job. Almost anyone can become a parent and many do.

It would be nice if the state of Alaska -- and our family-minded governor -- would recognize that and take a lead from the PWIA on this issue of boating safety. It's not like the organization is some whacked-out, fringe group talking safety.

This is a coalition of business people in the motorized-fun business. They clearly understand that the teenage boater who rams into something and dies this year is a boater who won't be around to buy a boat, jet ski or anything else the next year.

In that regard, the state should consider setting some minimum standards for young drivers of any type of machinery to ensure they live long enough to become purchasers of more machinery. And, if along the way, these younger Alaskans learn a thing or two about responsible driving or helmsmanship to share with their parents, that wouldn't be a bad thing.

When you're flying down the narrow channel of the Deshka River in a jet boat at 30 mph, it's nice to know the guy coming upstream at about the same speed understands who has the right of way to avoid the type of head-on collision that has killed boaters on that river. So, quick -- how many of you know who has the right of way?

Outdoors editor Craig Medred is an opinion columnist. Find him online at adn.com/contact/cmedred or call 257-4588.