[Awclist] New Mexico Boating Safety Laws affecting kayakers
Kelly Gossett
kwgossett at yahoo.com
Wed Sep 8 23:14:04 MDT 2010
All,
If you've ever participated in the Rio Grande Great Raft Race, you know
New Mexico has some pretty obscure boating safety laws, particularly
those that apply to whitewater kayaks, and some rafts. I've spent the
last several weeks working with NM State Parks to understand why the
laws are the way they are, and with the ACA (Public Policy attorney) to
see if change is possible.
Below is a series of discussions between me and the ACA where you can
see the law, my issue with the law (as a kayaker) and the Public Policy
attorney's comments and suggestions to have the laws changed.
There is some momentum behind this effort. NM State Parks has asked for my comments to the laws, and any oversights I've made
regarding canoe, kayak or raft safety should be brought to light soon,
so I can communicate this to both parties. The ACA is attending the NASBLA
(National Association of State Parks Boating Safety Laws Admin) conference next
week, and time has been specifically set aside to meet with the NM
agencies regarding these laws.
If you know of an angle I've not already highlighted, please let me know asap.
Thank you,
Kelly
505-217-2187
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Sanford <psanford at americancanoe.org>
Date: Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 7:38 AM
Subject: Re: Obscure New Mexico Laws
To: Kelly Gossett <kelly at newmexicokayakinstruction.com>
Cc: Jeremy Oyen <joyen at americancanoe.org>
You make some good points, Kelly. I've asked Jeremy to incorporate
this into his discussions with NM people. We'll return to this after
the conference.
On 9/7/10 9:34 PM, Kelly Gossett wrote:
Paul & Jeremy,
Thanks for your reply. My concern with the bilge pump & bail
bucket is more for whitewater kayaks, self-bailing rafts and SOT
kayaks (self-bailing SOTs have been cited for not having bail
buckets or bilge pumps; this is ridiculous). A bilge pump and/or
bail bucket in a whitewater kayak is not practical, and sponges
are not compliant with the law. Similarly, self-bailing rafts, and
self-bailing SOTs should be exempted from the law. Unless,
there's a very practical reason for whitewater, self bailing rafts
and self bailing SOTs to carry a bilge pump or 1-gallon bucket,
I'd ask that Jeremy discuss this at the NASBLA conference.
Thank you both,
Kelly
On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 3:30 PM, Paul
Sanford <psanford at americancanoe.org>
wrote:
Kelly, I had a chance
to look at this today. Sorry for the delay, but I've been on
vacation. It's that time of year.
I looked for the source of the requirements you referred to
in your message. They are as follows:
1) The Type IV carry requirement is in the NM
Administrative Code, Section 18.17.2.9(A)(1). Go here and scroll down to paragraph 9.
This requirement exceeds the requirements in the USCG regs,
which exempt canoes and kayaks. However, the Coast Guard
regs specifically allow states to impose more stringent
requirements (by disclaiming any type of federal preemption
regarding lifejackets and canoes and kayaks).
2) The stout rope requirement is in the NM state statute
at 66-12-7(A)(4) (follow the link and
click on the section in the left column).
3) The bailer/pump requirement is also in the statute at
66-12-7(A)(3).
In general, administrative rules are easier to change than
statutes. Statutes can only be changed by act of the state
legislature, whereas administrative rules can generally be
changed by a state agency.
For these reasons, I'd say there is a better chance of
movement on the Type IV requirement. Most states exempt
canoes and kayaks from the Type IV requirement, and you make
a good point that carrying one is often impractical for
kayakers. Not some much for canoes, though. Of course, if
the state agency is strongly committed to the rule, even
that may be a challenge.
Jeremy will be traveling to the NASBLA conference this week.
He is going to talk to the folks from NM and hear what they
have to say about this. I am asking him to specifically
inquire about the possibility of changing the Type IV carry
requirement, at least for those canoes and kayaks for which
carry is impractical.
Changing the rope and pump/bailer requirement will take a
different approach. You would need a legislator who would be
willing to champion this cause and introduce a bill that
exempts canoes and kayaks from these provisions of state
law. Realistically, I think such a person will be difficult
to find. These are, on their face, boating safety
requirements, and you would need to convince a legislator
that compliance is MORE dangerous than an exemption. I think
that will be a challenge.
This may disappoint you, but I must tell you that it will be
difficult for ACA to push hard for repeal of these
requirements, because we advocate for the carriage and use
of ropes, bailers and pumps in most of our safety materials.
We might not like that people are being ticketed for not
having them, but it will be tricky for us to object unless
we can make a compelling case that requiring them is
excessive in all circumstances. I do not think we will be
able to do that. It would be risky to argue that throw ropes
are dangerous when in the hands of beginners, because the
answer might be to require beginners to have the training
necessary to make them competent, resulting in more
requirements rather than less.
However, let's wait and see what Jeremy finds out from the
Agency people at the conference. If they are sympathetic to
our concerns and would be willing to support modification of
the statute along these lines, there might be a way to go
this.
In the meantime, perhaps some creative ways to comply would
be in order. Have you considered collapsible buckets? These might fit
in a pfd pocket, and would probably satisfy the requirements
of the statute.
On 8/27/10 11:52 AM, Kelly Gossett wrote:
Hi Paul,
Over the last few weeks, I've devoured the New Mexico
State Parks Boating Safety laws. There are three
primary issues I have with these laws.
The PFD link below summarizes them.
http://www.boat-ed.com/nm/nm_ specific_images/pdfs/nm_ required_equipment_table.pdf
According to this document ('the law') every
kayak should have a type I, II or III PFDs and one
additional Type IV (throwable device) onboard
and readily available.
Where are we supposed to put it?
Stout rope - must be at least the length of the
vesselSome rangers say this should be attached to
the boat, others say it can be stowed below the
deck. Either way, it seems like a hazard. Some
rangers argue the problem is easily solved if
every paddler carries a tow- or rescue
rope...but I argue few beginners or recreational
paddlers know how to use these. Bailing bucket or hand-operated bilge pump -
bailing bucket must be at least one gallon in
capacity
sponges do not fit the definitionself-bailing SOTs must also have a bailing
bucket
It appears to me that these laws were written for
rafts, possibly canoes, PWCs etc, but are being
enforced on kayakers. Many kayakers have been written
citations for noncompliance with these three laws, and
it is frustrating to try to build a safer, stronger,
more active community, only to have it destroyed in a
single outting for laws that are unsafe. Please take
a look at this and let me know how else I can assist
in the changing of these laws.
Thanks,
Kelly
--
New Mexico Kayak Instruction, Inc.
505-217-2187, office
505-803-2201, cell
www.newmexicokayakinstruction. com
--
Paul Sanford
Director of Stewardship
& Public Policy
General Counsel
American Canoe Association
108 Hanover Street
Fredericksburg VA 22401
(p) 540.907.4460 x106
(f) 888.229.3792
psanford at americancanoe.org
www.americancanoe.org
--
New Mexico Kayak Instruction, Inc.
505-217-2187, office
505-803-2201, cell
www.newmexicokayakinstruction. com
--
Paul Sanford
Director of Stewardship &
Public Policy
General Counsel
American Canoe Association
108 Hanover Street
Fredericksburg VA 22401
(p) 540.907.4460 x106
(f) 888.229.3792
psanford at americancanoe.org
www.americancanoe.org
--
New Mexico Kayak Instruction, Inc.
505-217-2187, office
505-803-2201, cell
www.newmexicokayakinstruction.com
--- On Wed, 9/8/10, Kelly Gossett <kwgossett at yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Kelly Gossett <kwgossett at yahoo.com>
Subject:
To: "AWC Listserve" <awclist at swcp.com>
Cc: "Mary Scofield" <flipline at comcast.net>, "Sarah McMahon" <smcmaho at pnm.com>
Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 8:13 AM
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /archives/awclist/attachments/20100908/da311039/attachment-0001.htm
More information about the Awclist
mailing list