Your responsibilities
The way in which you conduct yourself is an important element of safe boating. Your attitude and behaviour, especially towards other waterway users, is an important element for all of us in the Victorian boating community.
Rogue elements of individuals, with little respect to those around them, conduct illegal, dangerous and anti-social use of boats & jet-skis in and around the rivers of NSW. Boating community members have raised serious concerns about hoons who pose a huge safety risk to all river users. The solution is quite simple; don’t be an idiot.
You should adopt a safe boating attitude at all times; such as keeping a close watch before executing a manoeuvre, driving at a safe speed, being constantly alert to changing weather patterns and using the proper navigation lights from sunset to sunrise.
A boating safety course will help you acquire the necessary knowledge about safe boating techniques in order to keep you and others safe on the water. Learning and becoming more aware of your responsibilities will make for a safer boating environment for all. We hope that this will encourage you to adopt a safe boating attitude and make the boating experience more enjoyable for everyone.
The responsibility of the master is to maintain a proper lookout and avoid collisions, ensure the safety of those on-board the vessel and ensure that all safety equipment is accessible and stored on-board correctly.
Alcohol & Your Responsibility
When afloat, your coordination, judgement, vision, balance and reaction time can decline up to three times faster consuming alcohol. It is the boating environment with the waves, motion, vibration, engine noise, weather, wind and spray that can multiply the effects of alcohol.
Everyone aboard needs to take care because studies have shown that boat passengers are just as likely as operators to be involved in incidents such as capsizing the vessel or falling overboard as a result of drinking alcohol.
Operators of vessels which are underway may be subject to random breath testing and subject to heavy penalties if found to be over the limit. The operator of a vessel includes anyone steering or exercising control over its course or direction and includes the observer in a vessel which is towing people as well as anyone being towed.
- Persons over 21 years of age who operate a vessel or who are in charge of a vessel, including one at anchor, must not have a blood or breath alcohol reading over 0.05%
- Persons under 21 who operate a vessel or who are in charge of a vessel, including one at anchor, must not have any alcohol present in their blood or breath, that is, a reading of 0.00%.