Night time speed limit proposal on Clear Lake

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:40 am

Okay guys, get this. Some dumbass is proposing a new night time speed limit on Clear Lake of 15 mph. It has been up before the Board of Supervisors and was then sent to Lake Bed Management for further review and is now going back to the Board of Supervisor for further discussion and a vote.

Read this then come back here and discuss. http://lakeconews.com/content/view/8287/764/

Thanks to Sam Karnatz and John Graham for staying on top of this.

kopper_bass · Post by **kopper_bass** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:37 pm

Hey Greg,
Are you opposed to such an idea? if so, why?

personally, i can't see any reason to go faster than 15mph in the dark. its common sense to me, but others are not so smart, so i guess we need to have yet another law to try and subject common sense into people.

Kopper

Guy Williams · Post by **Guy Williams** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:50 pm

Can you get/stay on plane at 15 mph? Maybe say 20 mph is good, just enough to get from point A to point B by morning. Lights are a must while traveling, hate them while fishing though.
Guy Williams

Ray L. · Post by **Ray L.** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:14 pm

Night time speed limit at clear lake how stupid.
If you guys have never fished in az. at night they have no speed limit there. Makes it fun. There are lights everywhere on clear lake so full speed is easy. Besides when the wind is up you would be soacked at night at 15 mph.

frank · Post by **frank** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:51 pm

So the article states that the top two resons for collisons have nothing to do with speeding, yet they want to impose a speed limit. Anyone else find that a little ridiculous?

And to top it off they site an accidnet where the boat that was hit did not have their rinning lights on, yet speed was the factor. It had nothing to do with the fact that the boat could not be seen.

Our tax dollars at work.

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 4:14 pm

He we go ! I know if I was on the lake at night in my 12 ft aluminum boat catfishing or whatever, and for some reason I had no lights or dead lantern battery, I would much rather be hit at 15/20 MPH than at 60/70 MPH; what ya think !!!

JIGS

Rod Martin · Post by **Rod Martin** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:11 pm

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:15 pm

Phil wrote:He we go ! I know if I was on the lake at night in my 12 ft aluminum boat catfishing or whatever, and for some reason I had no lights or dead lantern battery, I would much rather be hit at 15/20 MPH than at 60/70 MPH; what ya think !!!

JIGS

If you are on the lake and have no lights or back up lighting you are an idiot. Speed is not you problem. Your failure to plan is.

Drunken and stupid boaters are problems, not speed. Out of the last 60 boating accidents on Clear Lake 2 have been at night - one where a sailboat was sunk and no other boat involved. Most all the accidents were alcohol related. It seems as though since most accidents involving speed happed during the day they should impose the 15 mph law during the day. since I fish mostly at night, I could support that.

As the man said in the paper. Let's lower the speed limit on land driven motor vehicles to 30 at night. Think of how many deaths that will prevent.

The most boats I've ever seen on Clear Lake at night except on the 4th of July is five. They've nearly all been a mile away. Its a huge lake. If I launch out of Lakeport and want to fish Nice/Lucerne Shore the Quercus, then Henderson and then Shag, then Weekend or Windflower I really don't want to putt putt at 15 MPH. When I'm cruising I've got 4 to 6 eyes watching for other boats at night.

Lakebed Management. voted 9-1 Not to recommend an additional speed limit on the Lake so it looks like a non issue anyway.

Fishmonger · Post by **Fishmonger** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:00 pm

Hoe 'bout that?! Common sense prevailed... for once.

Bill K · Post by **Bill K** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:35 am

Fishmonger wrote:Hoe 'bout that?! Common sense prevailed... for once.

What is wrong with the night speed limit. If I remember correctly (it is not always drunk, etc) a S.O. boat hit another boat, at speed last year, and the D.A. did nothing about it, in fact blamed the boater that got hit for the accident, did he not ?
Maybe, just maybe it would have stopped that from occuring. Bill K

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 7:53 am

Bill K wrote:
Fishmonger wrote:Hoe 'bout that?! Common sense prevailed... for once.
What is wrong with the night speed limit. If I remember correctly (it is not always drunk, etc) a S.O. boat hit another boat, at speed last year, and the D.A. did nothing about it, in fact blamed the boater that got hit for the accident, did he not ?
Maybe, just maybe it would have stopped that from occuring. Bill K

You might want to read the whole thread Bill. There was testimony that the Deputy may have been drunk but wasn't given an alcohol test until he was driven around for hours but the guy on the sailboat whose fiancee was killed by the (probably drunken) Sheriff was tested right away. A former law enforcement official testified that the sailboats lights were on. You were in law enforcement. You know how they take care of their own.

There should have been a law you can't drink while piloting a boat. That would have saved that girl, Right?

Fact: A game warden I know of was found drunk on the job twice. This is a Law Enforcement guy with a gun on his hip. Both times the union official got him re-instated.

WIND HER UP BABY!

Jeff Jewell · Post by **Jeff Jewell** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:36 am

Seems to me , if I can recall my Coast Guard classes correctly that a sailboat (if under sail) has the right away over almost all other boats except Aircraft carriers, Super Tankers etc etc, certinly over motorboats like a Sheriff's boat....

Bill K · Post by **Bill K** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:36 pm

Greg. You are correct on that one. I know, from past experience that we (my area at the time) did not cover and we in fact did proscecute a couple of law officers in my area for law violations. But I also know that times have changed and they seem to get away with things now a days. It is not right, but the whole system in corrupt, from the law makers right down the chain of command.
I see things all the time on the news, whereby violations get covered up or swept under the rug, so to speak. Sad, sad. Then law officers wonder why they recieve no respect anymore. Glad I was in it WAY back and not around today. Now it is fish, travel and enjoy myself, while I still can.. Bill K

Larry Hemphill · Post by **Larry Hemphill** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:10 pm

I feel sorry for you young anglers who plan to spend your lives in California. This is the first I have heard of this "wisdom"! How dumb!! I don't think my speedo even records 15 mph! I have night fished Clear Lake for 30+ years and often I am the only boat out there. Lately, there might be 3 or 4. July and August does find more night boating and an occasional tournament , but I have really only had one close call. I have seen some stupidity however in the summer but not from bass fisherman. They are just occasionally rude. I can see it now - in 20 years the politicians will allow boating on Tuesdays and Thursdays - and Thursdays you can only travel in reverse - so as not to create big waves!!!

Pat · Post by **Pat** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:29 am

Larry I agree with you. We have become over regulated in so many areas, and many of these regulations are seldom enforced. They often only come into play when some sort of litigation is in play. Adding another regulation without enforcement makes no sense. Others have already spoke of why a speed limit on Clear Lake is not needed, and would have significant impact on those who enjoy the lake at night. Common sense should be basis for behavior. If a person is going too fast for conditions, whether because of darkness, fog, or water conditions, they are boating recklessly and there are already laws on the books to deal with that. A 15 mph speed limit on a lake that has a lot of lights around it and many times has light from the moon as well is not a good law. As stated before most boats will not even get on plane at 15 mph which causes other problems from excessive wakes. This would juat be another case of regulation that restricts personal freedom for no good reason or result. Personal freedoms always come with responsibility to act responsibly. Running across Clear lake at speeds above 15 mph can be done responsibly. Responsible includes proper lighting and driving sober and there are already laws on the books for that.

Pat

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:49 am

Haha Larry, good one. I was fishing Aurora one night around the fourth of July week. A yellow boat with 2 drunks in it motored by to close and parked 150 feet away. They shot off several professional grade rockets out of their 15 foot boat. I was surprised there was anyone that stupid still populating the gene pool. They whooped and hollered as did their friends on shore.

This year I heard a yellow boat shot off some rockets near Aurora on the 4th of July by some drunks. The boat burst into flames. The guys went overboard and were rescued by friends in an aluminum boat. They were gone before the sheriff showed.

The boat stopped burning when it burned to the waterline. I saw it at Keeling park. I bet I can fish Aurora this year in relative quiet.