EP Officer with nothing better to do

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Uncle Matt

How many people here bitch when they see officers doing nothing and not doing "their jobs?" I wouldn't call an officer doing a safety check wasteing your time as it was so eloquently put.
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Bob I would look into into the law and then appeal it. Go have your say. Maybe in the end it will be dismissed. Either way, he was doing his job and trying to enforce the boating safety laws. I don't know how many people call that being a fool.
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Good luck Bob.

I agree with this post.
While I think the fine was not called for (he should have given a warning) I'll guarantee memorial day weekend there will some tragedy of a boat going down, either over loaded, no life jackets, no vhf, no working bildge pump, someone going out in a small boat in rough conditions when they should not, ect.....
And then there are the boaters who can't seem to remember or care about the safety gear, but never forget the booze before leaving the dock.
And when that happens not only are the boat owners putting themselves and passengers in danger, they put the EP, coast guard, rescuers, ect.... in danger!
Personally,
I think you going out on "a blustery 38 degree day" in a small boat would cause concern with me if I was the ep officer.

[Got Stripers]

Had my hearing and scratch one $50 ticket and I enjoyed rubbing the EP's printed rules in his face.

[likwid]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

I enjoyed rubbing the EP's printed rules in his face.

I hope you really didn't rub it in his face, because now you got someone who's gonna take his time if he hears you ever need help.

[daceman63]

I'm glad you beat your ticket.

Having said that, the best way to approach anything is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. You never know what surprises boating can throw your way. The best was to ensure you are prepared is to follow the rules, keep your equipment updated and get a free coast guard auxilary inspection each year. I do my inspection and make sure everything is working correctly and then they do their. At the very least they give excellent tips and information and updates to safety regualtion and reminders of existing ones. All these guys are boaters too looking out for the safety of all. On top of that it inly takes about 20 minutes and when you get pulled over usually one glance at that sticker and you get a wave and a "have a nice day".....

You mentioned you are an inland waterway boater....they have a nice safety course geared toward that style of boating as well.

IMO the cop was doing his job and although he may have gotten his point across with a warning, he most assuredly got your attention with the ticket.

Even though your explanation that you don't need your lights during the day is true it won't cover you for the "what if". I have a jack and a spare in my car. I don't have any flat tires. But then if I don't have that equipment "what if"....

[Got Stripers]

Originally Posted by daceman63

I'm glad you beat your ticket.

Having said that, the best way to approach anything is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. You never know what surprises boating can throw your way. The best was to ensure you are prepared is to follow the rules, keep your equipment updated and get a free coast guard auxilary inspection each year. I do my inspection and make sure everything is working correctly and then they do their. At the very least they give excellent tips and information and updates to safety regualtion and reminders of existing ones. All these guys are boaters too looking out for the safety of all. On top of that it inly takes about 20 minutes and when you get pulled over usually one glance at that sticker and you get a wave and a "have a nice day".....

You mentioned you are an inland waterway boater....they have a nice safety course geared toward that style of boating as well.

IMO the cop was doing his job and although he may have gotten his point across with a warning, he most assuredly got your attention with the ticket.

Even though your explanation that you don't need your lights during the day is true it won't cover you for the "what if". I have a jack and a spare in my car. I don't have any flat tires. But then if I don't have that equipment "what if"....

You obviously don't winter striper fish by boat. For "safety" reasons (my own), which is partly what the regs are all about, I don't plan winter fishing trips after the sun goes down, during rainy weather and I can't even remember a foggy winter day fishing. I tried to make that point at the time he wrote me up, but he wanted to strut his stuff. Trust me, I have everthing I need to be safe, spare clothes should someone go in, life jackets which I insist guests wear, kill switch clipped on.

This EP officer wrote me up for a violation I didn't commit and I took great pleasure in pointing that out, using their own printed manual as evidence.

[daceman63]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

You obviously don't winter striper fish by boat. For "safety" reasons (my own), which is partly what the regs are all about, I don't plan winter fishing trips after the sun goes down, during rainy weather and I can't even remember a foggy winter day fishing. I tried to make that point at the time he wrote me up, but he wanted to strut his stuff. Trust me, I have everthing I need to be safe, spare clothes should someone go in, life jackets which I insist guests wear, kill switch clipped on.

This EP officer wrote me up for a violation I didn't commit and I took great pleasure in pointing that out, using their own printed manual as evidence.

Oh God, no......I'm a totally fair weather boater. I don't launch until the last weekend in May regardless of where Memorial Day falls and my boat is usually out by mid October. I'll beach fish down the cape a bit later but by halloween I'm done.

I understand your point about not being out at night and from the laws quoted he obviously was not familiar with the required equipment needed and if he was being a wise guy then he learned a good lesson as well. For myself I always try to have more than required because I never know what I'm going to need.....like my last post where I stated I prepare for the worst.

I am glad you got your point across and didn't have to pay the fine. Under those circumstances he could have just given some friendly advice and in my experience most will. It sounds like your guy was having some issues.