During the next several weeks some 20,000 power boats will stampede onto the Chain o’ Lakes in Lake and McHenry Counties, with little in the form of safety regulations to slow them down.
Though the Chain is by far the most congested recreational area in the state and one of busiest in the nation, boaters will find no limits on the number, size, power or noise level of the boats that can take to the water. There are no daytime speed limits. No licenses or other qualifications are required to take to the water on a tiny jet ski zigzagging across another boat’s wake, or at the wheel of a rumbling twin-engine “cigarette” boat.
Whatever regulations do exist are not likely to be enforced either: On a busy summer weekend, a maximum of five or six marine units from Lake and McHenry Counties will likely be overwhelmed by the sheer number of boats and mayhem.
And sadly, by mid-summer the number of accidents–some fatal–is going to start mounting.
Last July three people were killed in Nippersink Lake as their cigarette-style speedboat was struck by a cabin cruiser. All of the victims were drunk, including the pilot, who had had his automobile driver’s license suspended for drunk driving.
Following the accident, state Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis (R-Zion) introduced legislation that would make DUI convictions cumulative, whether they occurred on land or water, to effectively prevent chronic offenders from operating either cars or boats.
When the uproar following the accident subsided, however, so did interest in any strong legislation. The provision about previous DUIs was removed and all that’s left of Geo-Karis’ bill, pending House approval, are some helpful but relatively minor safe-boating enhancements.
Boats can be as deadly as land-based vehicles and need to be regulated accordingly, particularly on a waterway as congested as the Chain. Lake Geneva, for example, a few years back established a daytime speed limit of 35 m.p.h.
Likewise, there needs to be licensing. If driving an eight-horsepower scooter requires a license, so should the operation of a cabin cruiser. And DUI convictions should be cumulative; chronic drunks are just as menacing on water as on land.
