9/1/13 Upper End

[Feathers and Fins]

That boat course you speak of MOST of the younger boaters MUST have it now went in to effect 1-1-1 and anyone born after 1985 has to have it so Any Boater 28 or younger must have it AGFC and in 1984 Mo. It doesn't work they forget everything they learned as soon as they are done. Perhaps forcing them to take a minimum 1 day on the water class might help but I doubt it.

The only way to get the message across is Heavy Enforcement and Stiff Penalties! I see these idiots make the simplest of errors, Putting a trailer so far in the water they fight it for an hour. coming to close to other boaters, passing the wrong side, not paying attention to their wake, the list goes on and on. Thank god this was the last big hurrah weekend!

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

We had a pontoon come flying up on us the other day when we were diving Norfork...had dive flags all over our boat and floating ones down the bank. He got a piece of our mind....good way to get a spear through the bottom of a boat

[bluebasser86]

I watched more than one power boat pass in between a fisherman and the bank last week around the dam. I think all the boats were drop shotting so maybe didn't bother them much other than boat control. It becomes a big problem in my little boat, one big wake and I'm in a bad spot in a hurry, and of course you don't usually get just one single wake. I agree with the cigarette boat owner/operators being the worst. If brain cells were money those folks couldn't buy a cold can of Coke. I think to own/operate boats with that much power the boating safety courses should be mandatory. I had to take one to run my little 16' aluminum with a 60hp just because of my age, seems like it would be a good idea for them to have one too.

[rps]

Safety courses and licenses are good ideas, but remember, to drive an automobile requires a license. Despite that certain drivers are still "killers" in disguise:

1. My large jacked up pickup with badass lights means you must move over when I am on your bumper

2. My corvette compensates, don'tcha know?

3. My wandering SUV means I am texting my other soccer mom girlfriends.

No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the public and "dumb stuff" is the norm of modern life. See my Labor Day post for proof.

Protect yourself.

[abkeenan]

Safety courses and licenses are good ideas, but remember, to drive an automobile requires a license. Despite that certain drivers are still "killers" in disguise:

1. My large jacked up pickup with badass lights means you must move over when I am on your bumper

2. My corvette compensates, don'tcha know?

3. My wandering SUV means I am texting my other soccer mom girlfriends.

No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the public and "dumb stuff" is the norm of modern life. See my Labor Day post for proof.

Protect yourself.

Hahaha. Too true and I think the worst offenders on the road. If you are a woman and under 30, apparently the engine of your vehicle will stall out unless you are constantly texting while driving. Any time I pass a teen girl driving I would be willing to bet they are on their phone either talking, texting, social media surfing or candy crushing about 90% of the time.

[Quillback]

After taking a defensive driving course (required when I was in the military), they teach you to trust no one. The town I live in, Bella Vista, has nothing but hilly, curvy roads. People routinely cross the center line, if they are not paying attention, and not all of them are young women. Young guys in pickup trucks are another class of driver that you should keep an eye on.

[Feathers and Fins]

Oh come on Bella Vista! Try OLD PEOPLE... and my favorite of all those trying to go down Oldham and Kingsland in ice storms. Heck I have sat at THC Rogers just to watch the wrecks its like Nascar on an Ice or Snow Day. and yet they let the school busses run knowing this. Stupid just aint on the roads its in the office too

[GNSfishing]

After taking a defensive driving course (required when I was in the military), they teach you to trust no one. The town I live in, Bella Vista, has nothing but hilly, curvy roads. People routinely cross the center line, if they are not paying attention, and not all of them are young women. Young guys in pickup trucks are another class of driver that you should keep an eye on.

And us old farts......

[johnboy2bfishin]

An old top water plug with snaggin trebles on them work wonders and so does a potato gun

[Quillback]

Oh come on Bella Vista! Try OLD PEOPLE... and my favorite of all those trying to go down Oldham and Kingsland in ice storms. Heck I have sat at THC Rogers just to watch the wrecks its like Nascar on an Ice or Snow Day. and yet they let the school busses run knowing this. Stupid just aint on the roads its in the office too

Old people drive too slow to be a problem . With all due respect, I live here and believe me, on the roads old people are not the ones that worry me. Granted in an ice or snow storm people are going to wreck, but it will effect all ages.

Saw a wreck a couple of years ago, I'm behind an old lady at a stop light, light turns green, she pulls out and gets T-boned by a young guy in a pickup truck. I get out to help, fortunately no one was injured, talked to the guy for a second, he didn't even realize his light was red. BTW one of the things defensive driving teaches you, when the light turns green, make a glance in both directions to make sure no one is running that red light.