NJ Boaters on Deck for Certification -  Law Taking Effect June 1st Will Require a Safety Class

Star Ledger Tuesday February 14th 2006

by MaryAnn Spoto

(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association March 2006 Newsletter)

On most summer Thursday evenings, it's not unusual to find a dozen or so boats anchored in the Metedeconk River in Brick Township, as music lovers come to listen to the free concerts on shore.  But whenever the concerts are followed by fireworks, hundreds of boats converge, many recklessly speeding up and down the river.  "It's like Black Friday at the mall parking lot -- everybody's got boats and they're going fast," U.S. Coast Guard Chief Calvin Jones said, describing summer boating. "There is some courtesy that goes along with being on the water that gets lost in summer."

For the most part, boaters navigating New Jersey waters have never had to take any sort of safety course or demonstrate any knowledge of the rules governing the sea.

That's about to change.  A new law that takes effect in June will require anyone who operates a power vessel to take an eight-hour safety course and pass a test to prove that they know the rules of the water.  Experienced boaters will be given a one-time chance to pass a written test that will exempt them from the course. If they fail, they have to take the course.

Many say that in a state with 220,000 registered recreational boats, the legislation is long overdue.  "It can get pretty hairy out there, especially on the weekends. People just don't understand or don't know the laws regulating the water," said Lt. Doug Kinney, spokesman for the Brick Police Department.

The law, which former Gov. Richard Codey signed last month, staggers compliance over the next three years. Boaters born in 1969 or later will need to be certified first, by June 1.

"We believe that an informed boater -- one who has completed a standardized boating safety class -- is much more likely to be a safe and courteous boater," said Tom Leaming, president of the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey.  Leaming, whose organization helped craft the legislation, said the regulations are among the strongest in the country because they cover a wider variety of vessels and a greater number of people who use them.

New Jersey has always been home to people who made their living on the water, whether they fished, built boats or hunted water fowl. But as more and more people have become recreational boaters, the inevitable clashes -- and crashes -- have increased dramatically, said Jones, of the Coast Guard's Atlantic City station.  "You have a lot of kids on the bow, people cutting each other off, boats running into other boats, and drinking. More people just not operating in a safe manner," he said.

In 1996, the state established regulations requiring operators of personal watercraft to pass a safety course and set a minimum age of 16 to operate vessels such as Jet Skis and Sea-Doos.

But as the state's crowded waterways gave rise to more accidents and close calls, lawmakers decided to make safety education mandatory for nearly all recreational boaters. It took three years to get the legislation passed.

The new law does not apply to commercial boaters because they already take tests to obtain their licenses. It also does not apply to out-of state boaters 18 and older who operate a vessel for fewer than 30 days in New Jersey if they can show proof of similar education from the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, the U.S. Coast Guard, or another state.

It does apply to engine-powered sailboats.

Under the new law, those born after Dec. 31, 1968, will have to take the eight-hour course immediately to be in compliance by June 1. Those born between Dec. 31, 1958, and Dec. 31, 1968, will have until June 1, 2007, to take the course, and those born between Dec. 31, 1948, and Dec. 31, 1958, will have until June 1, 2008. All others will have to take the course before June 1, 2009.

The New Jersey State Police, who will administer the tests, have not yet determined the definition of "experienced" or what will be included on the test.

The new regulations also require owners of personal watercraft to complete the educational course before operating the machine. Previously, they had 21 days from the date of purchase to complete the course.  The target of criticism by conventional boaters, personal watercraft are motorcycle-like boats that carry one-to-three riders, are steered with handle bars and are powered by a jet of water rather than a propeller.

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