There was another boating accident in early Februry, this one on Allatoona a little over a week ago. From the information I can get two boats were going in opposite directions through a big “S” bend and almost hit. When one of the boats made a sharp turn to avoid the other, the three men in the boat were thrown out. None of them were wearing life jackets and two of them drowned, if the information I read is correct.

This is a terrible example of what can happen if folks do not know the “rules of the road” for driving a boat. For some reason boat drivers do not think it is important to keep right. If they drove a car like they drive a boat they would be running up I-75 driving north in the south bound lanes.

Going around a bend in the lake or river, where you cannot see very far, it is critical to stay right. Many boat drivers make the stupid mistake of cutting around a point close to the bank on their left to save time or distance. This is the correct thing if the point is on your right. It is the opposite of what you should do if the point is on your left.

Stay way off the bank when going around a blind point to your left. Stay out where you can see oncoming boats. It can save your life.

I do not know if that is what happened at Allatoona, but that kind of accident or close call happens almost every day in warm weather when people are stupid and don’t drive a boat correctly.

I have even had people driving a boat I was meeting in wide open water go to the wrong side, meeting on the left rather than the right, and look at me like I am wrong. That kind of dumb or uninformed driving can kill.