Bill Would Regulate Personal Watercraft Use

A bill to regulate personal watercraft users was introduced Monday in the House Resources and Conservation committee.

The bill would give counties and cities authority to make ordinances restricting Jet-Ski riders’ behavior and make it illegal statewide to go faster than 5 mph within 100 feet of a dock, another vessel, or a person in the water.

The bill also would require rental shops to instruct operators about local and state regulations. Signed papers confirming this instruction would have to be carried in watertight compartments aboard the craft.

Mark Brandt of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation said only 6 percent of Idaho’s boats are Jet-Skis, but they account for 23 percent of all boating accidents. Half of all personal watercraft accidents involve rented craft, he said.

Rep. Golden Linford, R-Rexburg, said, “We’re not always anxious to put rules and regulations and restrictions on anyone, but in their (riders’) exuberance with this new toy, they go beyond the limits of what’s safe and reasonable.”

The committee will schedule hearings on the bill.

, DataTimes