- Joined
- Apr 5, 2012
- Location
- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
WTF?! Monday, April 1st 2013.
Washington, DC
Story Filed by April O'Neil.
Channel 6 News
A bi-partisian panel made from representatives from 8 states have met and introduced a new bill into the house set to limit the amount of power and speed on high performance bass style boats. The Boater Safety Act, would cap speed to a 25MPH limit or 100HP limit, and require any owner with one of these high performance boats to carry one million dollars in liability insurance.
"With the recent accident on the Sabine River by a professional fisherman, it's become clear that these boats are dangerous and over powered." said Senator Foolstein (D-NY). "I don't understand why anyone would ever need a boat that can go over 100 MPH when you can't fish at that speed".
During a recent professional tournament, angler Mike Iaconelli lost control of his high performance Bass style boat while traveling at extremely high speeds. The boat veered into a tree bank causing significant damage.
"We were all lucky this happened in an isolated area," added Senator Gotsya (R-CA) during the announcement. "What if it happened near a beach where there are swimmers? Children could have died!"
While boat and outboard manufactures have already voiced their opposition to the new safety bill, not all anglers have opposed it.
" I'm a strong backer of this," stated Mike Facade, President of the Maine Fly Fisherman Anglers of America Club. "These aren't fishing boats. They're race boats with no regulation, driven by often drunken anglers, and they're destroying the environment in our lakes and rivers. "
The bill has already received a strong support from the current administration, and goes to a vote in two weeks. Backers believe they will have little trouble getting the 60 votes necessary to pass. A matching bill is set to be introduced in the House this week, and several states are planning similar bills if this would fail.