Community Corner

Bay Head Tragedy Leads To Reforming Laws in NJ Waterways

Bonnie Post hopes to reverse the trend of increasing boating accidents and fatalities through stricter laws and enforcement.

Bonnie Post of Bay Head has been pushing for stricter boating laws since the death of her husband Robert in 2008 in a hit-and-run boating accident. 

"My husband was sitting there behind the console and we had just gone for a short boat ride. We went to the top of the Metedeconk, turned around and we were coming back . . . the boat came in at one-O’Clock and flew over and hit my husband,Post told Chasing NJ My9NJ. 

The number of fatalities in boating accidents has increased in recent years. Boating accidents caused 24 deaths in New Jersey last summer. Alcohol use and "operator inattention" caused most of the fatalities and boating accidents, respectively.

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Post's first suggested legislation, which sticks steeper penalties to those who leave the scene of a boating accident, passed through the General Assembly with a unanimous vote. The bill now awaits Governor Christie's signature. 

Post describes the speeding cigarette boats: "It's like putting a formula one car on the streets of rural New Jersey." My9NJ found that boaters tend to speed unless they see waterway law enforcement. 

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