[QUOTE=flippindrew;430443]A regulation requiring a boaters safety course is not going to solve ANYTHING.

I'm lost that everyone is referring to this accident and claiming we need to require boaters safety courses when both drivers in this accident were fully experienced drivers.

I took a boaters safety course when I was 14 or 15 to allow me to drive a boat without an adult present. What did it teach me? Port/Starboard, red buoy/green, give way to larger vessels exiting channels while you are entering blah blah. Nothing, experience and others such as my father taught me.

This thread was stemmed from a single accident. An accident in which arose from a single circumstance that everyone who has ever driven a boat has encountered. It was an absolute tragedy but I'm sure that everyone who has ever operated a boat of any kind has encountered this situation that caused this. A situation where your driving head on directly towards another boat. The key lesson here is to simply remember that you must make that move first to show the other driver your intentions. You cannot wait on the other driver.

It cannot be contributed to any organization, fog, too many boats on the water etc. I drove past this accident no more than two minutes after it happened and I could see the direction each driver was going etc.

An example of the regulations people are asking for:

Did I take a test for my permit and drivers license before driving? Yes. Did this stop me from driving like an idiot when I was 16 yrs. old? No. Inexperience is inexperience and a test cannot give you experience.

The simple fact is that require a test is not going to influence someone?s driving decisions on the water or the road after a test. As someone else stated, this boils down to common sense and decision making.

Staggering take off times for boats in a single tournament is obviously not a solution because the boats were in two different tournaments.

We all need to say a prayer for the family and friends affected and remember that we can only control our own boats on the water, and not others.

This is simply my opinion and wasn't meant to offend anyone. I have driven bassboats for over 14 years and have never had a single accident.

I'm sorry but tests simply do not prepare you for everything. Again, I can attest to that, I've take the boaters safety course.[/QU

This is a great response too. things do happen, sometimes there is nothing we can do... just Look at Tony Reynolds experience ....he lost one and he was around them 24-7 sometimes bad things happen and there is nothing we can do about it but I will still take one first chance I get cause I have no idea what starboard side is... in Bullitt Co we call that either lfet or right