Stupid Boating Laws in QLD

[kevin jackson]

How stupid are boating regulation in Queensland, it has come to my attention in the last couple of day that you have to register your boat if it is above 4hp, but you can drive a registered boat up to 6 horsepower with out a licence by yourself, now that seem a bit odd to me. I think that if you don’t have a boat licence you should not be able to drive a registered boat by yourself, as these are the people that normally cause accidents. That is only my opinion and I was wondering what the rest of you think about the topic.

Kev

[Fish Guts]

it honestly does worry me at all. it has been like this for yrs. i hardly think a kid in a 4 horsepower tinnie is going to cause a major accident. i actually think the government is being proactive with safety by ensuring boats over 4 horsepower are registered, in effect requiring safety equipment.

i think most of marine accidents are caused by licensed operators with highly powered boats rather than unlicensed operators driving a dinghy with a 4 horsepower plodding along.

safety never takes a day off !

[joeT]

As you can't get a boating licence until you're 16, this law allows teenagers without a licence to drive boats up to 6hp. Which seems fair enough I think. Although saying that I've almost been mowed down while anchored by kids in a tinnie too busy building a tent or something on the tinnie to look where they are going...

As fish guts mentioned, the registration requirement for over 4hp gives effect to safety equipment requirements. Which makes sense because under 4hp would usually be canoes and such which shouldn't need to be registered, but anything over should.

An unlicensed operator of a boat with 6hp I think is less likely to cause a serious accident than an inexperienced but licensed driver with a high powered boat.

[kevin jackson]

Yes i see both your points, i may not have worded it as well as i should have, not so much that there cause accidents but they get them self in situation that could be avoided. One example that i can accross the other day was a kid in a 10 foot punt with a 6hp on the back, on the plane, no licence but in a regesited boat cutting off a 40foot crusier in the middle of pumingstone passage. if the larger boat had not seen him it would have been a new headline. more my point is that you should bring back the licence to 4hp or less.

[gone_fishing]

experience is a wonderful thing
i think all boats users should have some sort of education or compancy test
even a 20min run down on what why and how
cant even walk onto a work site without at least 2 inductions
so many people forget boats dont have brakes and are impaitent you would drive off in the car when the kids havent got the door closed so why do people take off in boats with people hang off every where
most accidents ive seen have been caused by pig headedness and impatents
not lack of ability licences or experience
saftey first saftey last

[bushbeachboy]

I think it would be nice if it was consistent, but on the other hand the government should be applauded for trying to make things better for all concerned.

[STUIE63]

In Victoria they have a restricted boat license the restriction is age 12-16
can not go over ten knots on their own and with a fully licensed person in the boat then they can go up to twenty knots. This isn't a bad idea at least kids get to do a test.
Stuie

[Jabiru658]

We got a restricted license for our 14 year old (live in Vic), it's a sensible system. Gives our kids the chance to learn safely and offers some skills and stepping stones on the way to a full boat license.

The 14 year old thinks it's a great idea too ;D

[tunaticer]

I wonder how the law would take a coleman scanoe with a 12hp donk on the back? I regularly run that up the rivers to the hard to get to places for a fish.
I also have a registered 4.2m saratoga hull as well.