Inexperience, immaturity and crowded waterways are a recipe for disaster for boaters and swimmers. Harris County alone has seen 15 children drown already in 2013. These startling numbers prompted us to take a closer look at water safety, including the dangers posed by kids operating personal watercraft.

Harris County alone has seen 15 children drown already in 2013In Texas, you have to be 16 to obtain a driver’s license. You must be 18 to vote or join the military, and 21 to buy or drink alcohol legally. But you only have to be 13 to legally operate a personal watercraft such as a Jet Ski in Texas.

What? Put a newly minted teenager on a powerful vehicle attached to an engine and place them in a lake or ocean full of boats and other watercraft, not to mention swimmers, all swirling around together? That sounds like as good of an idea as throwing a young child who does not know how to swim into shark-infested waters.

There’s a reason young people have to wait to do so many things adults take for granted. Teenagers, especially those in their early teens, don’t have the maturity or the experience to safely handle risky activities like driving and drinking alcohol. But Texas allows these same young people to ride a Jet Ski, Sea-Doo, WaveRunner or other personal watercraft alone on crowded waterways with little training.

A quick news search offers a host of devastating stories of teen personal watercraft crashes, including several already this summer.

  • Here in Texas in June 2013, a 14-year-old boy from San Antonio sustained serious head injuries when the Jet Ski he was driving crashed into an idling bass boat on Lake McQueeney near Seguin. He was thrown from the personal watercraft upon impact. (Seguin Gazette)
  • A 9-year-old boy was killed in June 2013 after two personal watercraft driven by teenagers crashed on Lake Norman in North Carolina. The boy was riding on a Jet Ski driven by a 15-year-old. (WSOC-TV)
  • In May 2013, a 16-year-old boy suffered moderate injuries in a Jet Ski accident on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. He was thrown from the personal watercraft he was operating when he tried to jump a wake, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. (KSHB 41 Action News)

You can’t help but wonder if these accidents could have been avoided if more experienced, more educated boaters had been driving the personal watercraft rather than young teenagers.

Houston jet ski accidents - Caused by operator inexperience

Operator inexperience is the second most common cause of boating accidents, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, contributing to 417 accidents, 51 deaths and 303 injuries in 2012. Only operator inattention, which could also be linked to immaturity as well as a lack of training or education, contributed to more boating accidents.

 

 

 

On top of that, personal watercraft are the second most common type of vessel involved in boating accidents, according to the Coast Guard. Much like motorcycles, the relatively small size and open nature of personal watercraft can add to the danger and potentially worsen the consequences of an accident.

Common Types of Boats Involved in Accidents

 

To put it mildly, inexperience and personal watercraft are not a good combination, and youth equals inexperience.

To get a driver’s license in Texas, teens have to take a driver education course with behind-the-wheel training and pass knowledge and driving tests. While Texas does require young people to take a basic boating class to operate a personal watercraft alone, there are no requirements to log practice hours like you would for a driver’s license. And enforcement is a major issue. Texas does not have the resources to patrol every lake and river to make sure that every boater has the proper training and credentials.

Texas needs to have stronger laws to protect the lives of teens, as well as the lives of the innocent people who may be swimming or boating on the state’s waterways. A good start would be to increase the minimum age for operating personal watercraft. In addition, no one should operate a personal watercraft without thorough education and training.

At the same time, parents need to take responsibility for their kids. Children are a treasure, and parents have a responsibility to protect that treasure, as well as to make sure their kids don’t harm anyone else. Parents need to be aware of the risks of personal watercraft. They need to closely supervise children and shouldn’t allow young, inexperienced teens to operate personal watercraft. The law may say 13 is old enough, but parents need to step in and say no.

And when parents decide their child is mature enough to operate a Jet Ski, they should make certain they have taken a boating course and are well versed in safety rules and regulations.

Think about it: Would you want to be out on the water with a group of 13- and 14-year-olds zooming around on personal watercraft with little or no training? Then we should all work together to make sure they don’t.

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