Kiteboarding Regulation Defeated - Hawaii Senate Proposal 2901
off the docket for now... prior post :
There's an unusual piece of legislation in front of the senate of the state of Hawaii. At best this proposal seems impossible to monitor and enforce - at worst it could be the beginning of regulations governing where and how people sail and kite. Speak out NOW to express your view by writing the honorable elected officials of hawaii. Please direct your opinion to the Committee on Water and Land
the text of the proposed regulation is HERE
Essentially it's intent is to regulate windurfing and kiteboarding such that it would be illegal for a windsurfer or kiteboarder to be within 200 feet of any swimmer or surfer.
The intent is not an issue - it makes eminent sense for people to exercise good judgement wrt safety in the water - I have sympathy for the "intent" having been tangled up by another rider who was close enough to fly his kite between my lines - unquestionaly a dangerous situation for all. That said, it's clear to me that the legislation as drafted is impractical and won't really have the intended impact and I am thus fervently against this proposal. A guideline like this needs to be self policed by our community - not created as a piece of legislation that can't really be enforced. Hard to imagine a police officer going out on the water to ticket a rider - until it was too late / post fact. Let's make sure we self police bad behavior out of our sport so others dont feel the need to try to legislate. Speak out!
There's an unusual piece of legislation in front of the senate of the state of Hawaii. At best this proposal seems impossible to monitor and enforce - at worst it could be the beginning of regulations governing where and how people sail and kite. Speak out NOW to express your view by writing the honorable elected officials of hawaii. Please direct your opinion to the Committee on Water and Land
the text of the proposed regulation is HERE
Essentially it's intent is to regulate windurfing and kiteboarding such that it would be illegal for a windsurfer or kiteboarder to be within 200 feet of any swimmer or surfer.
The intent is not an issue - it makes eminent sense for people to exercise good judgement wrt safety in the water - I have sympathy for the "intent" having been tangled up by another rider who was close enough to fly his kite between my lines - unquestionaly a dangerous situation for all. That said, it's clear to me that the legislation as drafted is impractical and won't really have the intended impact and I am thus fervently against this proposal. A guideline like this needs to be self policed by our community - not created as a piece of legislation that can't really be enforced. Hard to imagine a police officer going out on the water to ticket a rider - until it was too late / post fact. Let's make sure we self police bad behavior out of our sport so others dont feel the need to try to legislate. Speak out!
posted by kiteVC at 8:00 AM
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