Help curb boating accidents in Florida, Gov. Desantis. Sign the Lucy Law bill.
On Thanksgiving Day 2019, my life changed forever. A speeding boat struck me while I was snorkeling. My right arm was severed on impact, and I caught a glimpse of it sinking onto the reef below. Both of my legs were severely damaged by the propellers, and my left wrist was badly broken.
After miraculously surviving this, one of the first things I said after waking up from my medically-induced coma was, "I can make a bigger difference now than I ever could before this happened."
As a marine biologist who worked at Loggerhead Marinelife Center at the time of my accident, I frequently saw the devastating effects of boat strikes on sea turtles, not knowing that I would soon endure the same fate.
I often snorkeled off the coast of Palm Beach County, enjoying the beauty of the area's diverse marine life. On that fateful day, I was snorkeling off of the coast when a 36-foot speedboat directly hit me. The driver did not see my divers-down flag, a required safety device that was floating just a few feet away from me. GPS data from the boat recorded their speed at about 45 miles per hour at the time of impact.
I firmly believe that my faith was what saved me and that God had given me an opportunity to help others through this incident. When I heard about Lucy's Law, I knew I had to support it. The bill is comprehensive boater safety legislation named in honor of Lucy Fernandez, a Miami teenager who was killed in a tragic boating accident. She was just a few years younger than me at the time of my accident; she deserved to live a long, full, and joyful life.
The legislation, which currently awaits the governor's signature, has three main components. It requires the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to establish standards for online boating safety education courses. It also aligns boating under-the-influence with driving-under-the-influence penalties and creates harsher penalties for operators who leave the scene of an accident.
Gov. DeSantis, we're counting on you to help prevent more of these life-changing accidents. I urge you to sign Lucy's Law. This legislation may not change what happened to me, but it can help protect others and potentially save lives.
Florida is the boating capital of the world. We have pristine, blue waters filled with marine life, which my career is dedicated to preserving. Every resident and visitor has the opportunity to explore all that our coastal waters have to offer. But with that opportunity comes responsibility.
According to the FWC, there were 659 boating accidents in 2023 alone and 59 of those were deadly.
Education and training saves lives. Lucy's Law will save lives.
Carter Viss founded the Carter Viss Foundation, a boating safety nonprofit based in Jupiter.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida bill could improve boat safety. Desantis must sign. | Opinion
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