FLORIDA BOATER SAFETY IS SECONDARY TO MONEY
As a 25-year maritime attorney representing injured boating accident victims it is not difficult to see Florida’s priorities when it comes to safety for Florida’s boaters, JetSki riders, swimmers, etc. The proof is in the laws passed by the Florida legislature not just this year but in the past as well. Florida decided long ago not to require any testing of any type if a person is born before January 1, 1988. A first-time boat operator can get behind the wheel of a vessel and go out among all the other boaters on the public waterways. No vision test is required. No safety course is required. No proficiency test is required like that needed to obtain a Florida Driver’s License. If a person can afford a boat, borrow a boat, or rent a boat—even with zero experience—then Florida law says that is fine and legal in Florida to do so if the person was born before 1988.
Florida compounded that absurdity by just now signing into law a bill that would prevent boaters from being subjected to inspections by state and local maritime law enforcement agencies: so-called “no probable cause” searches. Here is how it is being described by the legislators.
Senate Bill 1388, known as the “Boater Freedom Act,” is sponsored by Panama City Republican Sen. Jay Trumbull. He said that one of the reasons he wanted to pass the legislation was one of his neighbors being boarded three times in one boating trip.
“You know, with the signing of of this bill, Senate Bill 1388, the Boater Freedom Act, we’re reaffirming that the principles of freedom and limited government do not stop at the shoreline,” Trumbull said. “At its core, the voter Freedom Act is about protecting personal freedoms and preventing government overreach, the right to move freely without being stopped or questioned without cause, is fundamental in a free society and the right should apply whether you’re on the highway or on the water. We do respect our law enforcement officers and their mission, but there has to be a balance.”
The law, which will go into effect July 1, will prohibit waterborne state and local law enforcement officers from performing a boarding of a boat without probable cause; allow the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to create a “Florida Freedom Boater” safety inspection decal program; and create a grant program for construction and maintenance of publicly owned parking for boat-hauling vehicles and trailers.
“We also want to right a wrong that has happened in terms of how people are approached on the water by law enforcement,” DeSantis said. “Now, current law allows both state and local law enforcement to pull a voter over when no probable cause or suspected violation has incurred and to conduct inspections. Inspections may include personal property searches, sometimes leading to further law enforcement action beyond merely safety compliance.
Oh, the inconvenience. Being stopped by Florida Fish and Wildlife or local Sheriff’s Department and being asked whether the fire extinguisher is up to date and accessible, same with life jackets, etc.
This is the exact opposite of what Florida boaters, swimmers, JetSkiers needed. This new law was a solution looking for a problem that did not exist in any capacity. Any honest boater knows that the prospect of being stopped by law enforcement on the water makes that boater more prepared and focused as to the location of—and accessibility to–their life vests, flares, and audible warning devices, etc. Knowing that a vessel could be randomly stopped also prevents more boating under the influence of alcohol cases. One need only go out on the water during a sunny weekend to see evidence of boating under the influence in action. Taking away the possibility that a vessel can be randomly stopped and even boarded is not going to make boating under the influence a lesser problem, it is going to increase the problem. Prohibiting law enforcement from checking coolers on a vessel is going to exacerbate boating under the influence. Do we do this with motor vehicles? No. In fact, law enforcement has the ability to set up DUI checkpoints and pull over random vehicles to check for driver sobriety. Law enforcement has the ability to randomly check tractor-trailers to make sure they are safe on Florida roads. So the need for that type of inspection and enforcement ceases once the operator is on a vessel? Hardly.
At the same time the Florida legislature passed this anti-boater safety law, it also passed a bill known as Lucy’s Law which arose out of the 2022 tragedy near Miami when a vessel filled with teens struck a channel marker in broad daylight. The intent of the law is said to make the penalties stiffer for reckless boating and leaving the scene of an accident, among others. However, this is an after-the-fact remedy and penalty to a situation after a tragedy occurs. Let’s take steps to help prevent the tragedy. Prevention is the key to saving lives and injuries. Most would agree that when a person knows they can be pulled over for a traffic stop that is more effective in preventing DUIs than the fairly modest penalties for getting a DUI. Fewer DUIs equals fewer injuries and deaths arising from DUIs.
Summary:
Preventing law enforcement on the water from the ability to inspect vessels does not increase safety, it hinders that. Florida already does not require any knowledge or training of a person born before 1988 to operate a boat in Florida waters, even allowing first-time operators to go out amongst the boating population any experience whatsoever. At the same time Florida passed Lucy’s Law—a good law—the Florida legislature passed the so-called Boater Freedom Act which will decrease safety on the water.
About the author:
Frank D. Butler is a Florida attorney practicing and specializing in maritime law for more than 25 years, an 8th generation Floridian and who grew up on the waters in Florida. He has seen and represented families devastated by careless boating, boating under the influence, boating collisions, propeller injuries, etc.
