48 SPOILS Herald & Lantern 6 June '84

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They Never Saw The Other Boat'

B y J o li \ c BERNHARTSER National Safe Boating Council Over the years the Coast Guard has spent considerable time and effort in attempts to understand the whys and wherefores of boating accidents. A canoe or other small boat that capsizes because someone stands up or moves around in it is easy to explain. A boat that explodes or burns because there is fuel in the bilges is also readily explainable. But two boats that collide in the middle of a lake or other body of water on a beautiful Saturday afternoon with unlimited visibility are much more difficult, especially when neither operator had been drinking and both claimed that they "Never saw the other boat". Although these accidents are not among the most common, they occur with alarming frequency and cause deaths, injuries and property damage. The Coast Guard, in an attempt to understand them, took a good look at the boats involved. Where there problems with construction, windshields, colors, or were there other engineeri ng factors which obstructed the operator's vision? ALTHOUGH THERE were potential improvements. and the bowattitude of a boat that was improperly loaded or in»the process of getting on the step would reduce forward visibility; there was no single factor or combination of factors which could explain why the operators "failed to see the other boat" That left only the operator, and a pilot study was contracted for to deter - mine if there were evidence to counter the popularly heid notion that the cause of these accidents was pure and simple operator negligence and inattention.#Since the operators involved claimed that they never saw the other boat, or that they did not see if until it was too

late, the problem appeared to be vision-related. The pilot study therefore centered upon the eyes and their motion as the opera. or became aware of and reacted to things in the vicinity. It soon became evident that operators, as the day wore on, began more and more to stare straight ahead, failing to react to things off to the sides. The field of vision also appeared to become narrower as time went on. In other words, several hours of boat operation seemed to develop something like tunnelvision and highway hypnosis. HAVING ESTABLISHED that there well may be something more than negligence and lack of attention involved, more comprehensive studies were developed. These studies were designed to test the effects of various elements in the boating environment on the operator The elements to these elements singularly and in combination in both a rested as well as fatigued a condition. The tests were not designed to be true reproductions of actual boating activities. They were designed only to test the ability of operators to observe and react to things in their field of vision while operating a boat There is a great deal of difference between observing another boat, determining its course and speed, considering the possibility of a collision, and if there is one. deciding on a course of action and executing that action, compared to that of noticing a blinking light and pressing a button on the throttle handle . IT SOON bet-.iie apparent that operators who had been exposed to the elements of boating for about four hours developed a marked lengthening in response and time and started to miss their cues, especially when these were off to the side. In practical terms, operators who were fatigued, wouid fail to notice something on the side until it had moved nearly in front of them. Additionally. tired operators driving a boat about 30 miles an hour would, on the average, travel about 70 feet farther than when they were rested before starting to take action. This reduction in performance is nearly equal to being legally drunk Since beer and other forms of alcohol are frequently a part of the enjoyment of boating, alcohol was added to the study to determine its effect on the operator when combined' with the other elements of the boating environment. Since a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .1 has legally been determined to constitute intoxication for automobile operation in the majority of states, this level was used in the studies IT WAS FOUND that an operator who was rested, but had consumed enough alcohol to reach the . 1 BAC. was somewhat more affected then an operator who was fatigued after spending four hours on the water. This was in spite off the fact that such an operator may look sober to

the casual obser/<4r. He would takekpbout half again as long to react, and if driving the same boat at the same speed, would travel at least 100 feet farther than he did when he was rested and sober, before he would take any action. When fatigue and aicohol were combined at various levels, it became apparent that alcohol interacted with and increased the debilitating effects of fatiguq^ When an operator who had been exposed to four hours of boating and was considered fatigued, had also consumed enough alcohol to be legally under the influence, the results were unpredictable Although some operators would not take appreciably longer to react then when they were only fatigued, the reaction itself was much more uncodrdinated and awkward. Others would be very deliberate and slow, while again others would anticipate the cue and react when they were not supposed to. Much more important was the fact that operators who were both fatigued and legally drunk missed 10 or more times as many signals as operators who were merely fatigued. In other words. "They never saw the other boat "

OPERATORS WERE interviewed and provided a self evaluation of their performance after each run. When' they had not been drinking they had a rather accurate, if somewhat conservative opinion of their performance. Those who had been drinking universally stated that they drove the boat as well or better after drinking as they did when they s were sober. This was in spite of the very marked reduction in performance observed by the experimenter and recorded by measuring instruments. So. alcohol has the double effect of reducing the ability to perform and at the same time making operators think that they are doing better then when they are sober. A few hours of sun. wind, glare, noise and vibration can tire boat operators enough to miss important things around them and cause an accident. Operators need to be aware of this and make a special effort to be alert, to avoid other boats, snags, and other floating debris after a day on the water. Most of all. responsible boat operators save their drinks till they get home.

When you're in the driver's seat Even on the water. . . Think before you drink. Be a responsible boat operator. US Deportment /JBHU MMf erf Transportation fEmM W Endonad Br /AMBw Mam Trades Assoc United States Jwy Coast Guard W " racogmm of Ntbonaf Safa Boadng Haek Juna 39, 19B4

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