Attention Sea Doo drivers!

[LakeMartinGal]

Be very careful driving your seadoos! They do not have brakes, and they lose steering if you slow down too much! In a crisis situation, the best thing to do is to get off the craft, because if the dead-man switch is attached correctly (you will, of course, be wearing your buckled safety vest), the seadoo will stop, and you will be less hurt than if you stayed on until impact!

We learned this today in the worst possible way. We were called to the scene as first responders where someone had not gotten off in time, and hit a dock at full speed. This person paid for this mistake with their life.

Please don't let this happen to you or yours!

[tea4one]

How awful! I think those things are really dangerous!!

[badunnin]

See, on all the ones I've been on all you have to do is let go of the throttle and they stop. They don't exactly stop on a dime, but not too far from it. Was this guy/gal drinking?

tea4one - they are no more dangerous than the operator riding them, just like a boat, or a car....

[mbrogier]

How tragic.

I've ridden several as a friend of my dad's kept his at our house and let us use them in the summers. They are so much fun and are really easy to use if you know what you're doing. No, they don't have brakes, but you can turn them quickly to the side to slow them down rapidly as they're a lot sturdier than they used to be.

Most of the accidents where we lived were alcohol related. One guy ran into the side of a huge bridge. The Coast Guard beefed up patrols for alcohol and underaged craft usage. Accidents fell dramatically. The only time I felt in danger was when I was around boats.

I love jet skis. I would never use one in a crowded area though.

[tea4one]

OK, I am wrong, they are not totally dangerous but I don't think I will be getting on one.

[LakeMartinGal]

See, on all the ones I've been on all you have to do is let go of the throttle and they stop. They don't exactly stop on a dime, but not too far from it. Was this guy/gal drinking?
No, the person was sober -- no signs at all of alcohol consumption. We figure that, the head was turned, and by the time the dock was noticed, slowing down was not an option. Broken neck turns out to be the preliminary cause of death, we hear. Likely as not, there was no life to be saved by the time we got there.

When you let go of the throttle, they slow down... you can not steer as well as when you have some speed. Perhaps this person panicked and froze... or perhaps the remaining speed (senior moment on the correct word) just took them into the dock...

Not to defend or accuse this person, just wanting to warn everyone to please be careful! :)

[mbrogier]

Thanks for your warning, LakeMartinGal.

Docks should be given a WIDE berth and should be considered no wake zones. (that's the reason why most dock areas are no wake zones. ;) )

[Cookin4Love]

It's a good reminder of the need to practice safety even when having fun. We were on Sea Doos about 10 days ago, and part of the information we received during orientation was that there were no brakes, the SeaDoos need about 100 feet to stop, and they lose steering when the throttle is released--just as you said. Fortunately, everyone had a safe ride, but it sounds like you witnessed an absolutely tragic situation. Thank you for watching out for us.

[Gumbeaux]

There are serious injuries involving personal watercraft almost every year where I live. I can go to a nearby river on any day and see people doing unsafe things. Personal watercraft users often follow behind large boats so that they can have fun jumping their wake even though it is known that this is extremely dangerous. I think the design of personal watercraft encourages some people to engage in daredevil activity.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9805/19/jet.ski.safety/



.

[engineer]

There are serious injuries involving personal watercraft almost every year where I live. I can go to a nearby river on any day and see people doing unsafe things. Personal watercraft users often follow behind large boats so that they can have fun jumping their wake even though it is known that this is extremely dangerous. I think the design of personal watercraft encourages some people to engage in daredevil activity.


I work for a recreational vehicle manufacturer that used to make PWC's. My job puts me in contact with the warranty, safety and litigation folks and I've come to one conclusion...we build toys for testosterone poisoned males. :rolleyes: I can tell you stories of what people do with our products that would make your hair stand on end. :eek: I sometimes joke that we have the largest test fleet in the world - our consumers. They do things that our crazy test/development drivers won't do and they are pretty daring folks.

[mbrogier]

I lived at the beach on the intracoastal waterway. My brother and I used our jet ski for kneeboarding, tubing and water skiing. It was fun because it was a craft that we could have fun on without being too much boat for us. We were 14 when we got it and had been around boats since we were able to walk.

[Chefzhat]

Thanks for your warning, LakeMartinGal.

Docks should be given a WIDE berth and should be considered no wake zones. (that's the reason why most dock areas are no wake zones. ;) )
I wish someone would tell my neighbor this teensy fact :mad: He and I are going to have a discussion this weekend.

[mbrogier]

I wish someone would tell my neighbor this teensy fact :mad: He and I are going to have a discussion this weekend.

If it's a posted no wake zone usually whoever polices the water in that area will give a warning or a ticket. If that doesn't help, try your city council. I remember that was an issue with people at the beach. A few people wanted to turn the entire bay area where we lived into a no wake area. (it was the size of a small lake :rolleyes: ) It wasn't locals going too close to docks; it was people renting condos on the other side.

[LakeMartinGal]

I wish someone would tell my neighbor this teensy fact :mad: He and I are going to have a discussion this weekend.
If this tragedy helps one person stay safe, then it wasn't in vain! That's the reason I posted...