Now that this summer has seen one jet ski rider drift into Lake Michigan for two days and another jet skier die from injuries sustained after being run over by another jet skier, is the city or the state going to acknowledge that these vehicles are dangerous and that the riders need to be regulated somehow?
Jet skis are clearly dangerous vehicles, capable of high speeds with no required protections for the rider or any type of license or training to drive. Year after year people are injured and killed in increasing numbers as the numbers of these powerful toys increase on waterways.
Despite the increasing numbers of deaths and injuries, these vehicles remain entirely unregulated. The state either doesn’t require any registration or doesn’t enforce the requirement if there is any; children are commonly seen driving these vehicles around at high speeds with no adult supervision. The skiers regularly travel in packs, closely missing other power boats as the skiers jump the wakes of larger boats, narrowly missing them.
Sailboats and power boats have long been required to register with the Department of Natural Resources and display the sticker proving registration. But jet skis apparently have no such requirement. In all the years I’ve been on Lake Michigan, I have yet to see even one DNR sticker on these little craft. They should have to at least pay like the rest of us for their use of the waterways, especially because these toys make more noise and contribute more to water and air pollution than almost any other type of water vehicle.
Sitting by the lake used to be a quiet and enjoyable experience. Now one has to yell above the rude buzzing of the jet skis and cigarette boats. It’s outrageous that these vehicles are not regulated more closely. How much damage do these things have to cause–and how many riders need to be killed and injured–before rules are passed and enforced to manage these noisy and dangerous vehicles?
