You Are Responsible

From the moment you put your boat into the water, you are responsible for the safety of everyone on your boat, everything they do on your boat, and anything they do that affects anyone else on the water. There is nothing in the rules that will excuse you from breaking the rules or neglecting any precaution. To avoid personal injury or damage, you must follow these rules:

• You must control the boat speed and obey all no wake/limited wake restrictions.
• You must be sure your propeller and motor never hit anything.
• You must control excessive noise caused by the boat or anyone on it.
• You must understand the rules and operate your boat in accordance with homeland security measures.
• You must understand and follow the rules of common boater courtesy.
• You must understand when to make a departure from these rules to avoid immediate danger.

That is a lot of responsibility. Only if you are ready to take on all that responsibility should you continue with this course and operate a boat.

You and everyone on your boat need to respect the rights of other people who live, play or work on the water.

If you are negligent in the way you operate your boat, and someone's life or property is endangered, you are breaking the law. Nationally, 32% of boating citations in recent years were due to improper boat handling (e.g., negligent operation, excessive speed, operating in restricted areas, no wake area violations, collisions, or going too fast at night).

Approximately 80% of all reported boating accidents could have been prevented if the boaters had observed better safety practices. Common boat operator errors include inattention or carelessness, inexperience, excessive speed, and failure to maintain a proper lookout.