Encl. (6) to COMDTINST 16200.3A
5.
Enforcement Policy. The RBS Program emphasis is education
first and enforcement second. The great majority of boaters
willingly comply with the law, when they know what the law
is. Also, the recreational boater is at leisure, escaping
the regimen of everyday life. A harsh enforcement program
could create animosity among many law-abiding and well-
meaning citizens. Nevertheless, enforcement gives teeth to
the education process and can be an additional incentive to
aid a boater's memory and willingness to comply with the RBS
requirements. Likewise, with manufacturers, the Coast Guard
emphasis is correction of a safety problem first, to put safe
boats and equipment in the hands of the boating public. In
most cases, no civil penalty is assessed against a
manufacturer who is cooperative while attempting correction
of a defect. Civil penalties are assessed against
manufacturers who are uncooperative, or completely fail to
comply with the law.
6.
Warnings. Commandant Instruction 16750.7 encourages Coast
Guard Boarding Officers to issue on-the-spot warnings for
violations specified in enclosure (2) of the instruction, if
the observed violation is a FIRST OFFENSE and the boater
states that the violation will be CORRECTED PROMPTLY. The
use of written warnings saves staff hours in processing
violation cases while still serving the purpose of educating
the boater in the requirements of the Recreational Boating
Safety Program. The instruction prohibits issuing warnings
where the operator is required to be licensed, required
safety equipment is not on board, or the boarding officer
notes three or more violations, or for a non-warnable
violation.
7.
Civil Penalty Ranges.
a.
Penalty cases involving boaters should be forwarded to
is beyond use of a written warning either because an on-
the-spot warning is precluded, as described in paragraph
6 above, or previous written warning(s) did not provide
the boater, or manufacturer, with enough incentive for
compliance. Penalty cases involving manufacturers should
for repeated and willful disregard for the need for
compliance with applicable standards or regulations or
for failure to exercise "reasonable diligence" (46 U.S.C.
4310(c)(1)(A)).
b.
Recreational Boating Safety regulations are listed in
Table 6-A, along with the maximum penalties permitted by
law. The list is not intended to be all-inclusive.
Table 6-A also contains recommended dollar ranges of
penalties for each violation for use by the district
program manager when preparing a case to submit to the
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