After the St. Clair County Marine Division saw its second major jet ski accident for the year this past weekend, with similar circumstances in both crashes, Marine Division Lt. Stoyan is urging riders to brush up on their water safety skills.
The first accident in mid-June occurred on a blind cut from Mud Lake, near Sni Bora Highway, between a jetski and fishing boat, with the jet ski driver suffering a broken shoulder. Meanwhile, the second accident occurred on Friday, June 28, in yet another small cut, this time near Muskamoot Bay.
This incident involved two jet skis, resulting in major injuries of all involved parties. With the holiday weekend upon us, and the rest of the summer stretching ahead, watercraft safety is of utmost concern, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.
While accidents can occur anywhere, there are many cuts that are low visibility, greatly increasing the risk of a crash. Please use extra caution if you choose to travel through one of these areas, with many paths only wide enough for a single watercraft to navigate through and no way of knowing who may be traveling in the opposite direction.
In addition to safety tips, the sheriff’s office also wishes to remind the community of rules and regulations to be followed on the water, such as not operating a personal watercraft in between sunset and 8 a.m., or in waters less than two feet deep unless traveling at a slow, no-wake speed.
The law also dictates that all occupants of a personal watercraft must wear an approved personal flotation device, be older than 14, and maintain a distance of 100 feet from any dock, boat, raft, buoyed or occupied swimming area while driving at other than slow – no wake speed. A person must also stay 200 feet away from any Great Lakes shoreline, and shall not cross within 150 feet behind another vessel other than a personal watercraft that is moving at greater than a slow – no wake speed.
The sheriff’s office wants to remind citizens that maneuvers that endanger life, limb, or property, including weaving through congested traffic, jumping the wake of another vessel, or turning unnecessarily close to another vessel and/or swerving at the last moment to avoid a collision constitutes reckless operation of a vessel, a misdemeanor.
If convicted of such a charge, the court will order the person to participate in and complete a boating safety course, and may issue an order prohibiting them from operating a personal watercraft on state waters for no more than 2 years.
