Speeding from the outset.

[Miles]

The Broads Authority asked for videos of boats speeding.
How many do you want?
Maybe now people might start listening to what we have all been saying for years, there is a problem and you are ignoring it We are not
Watch this on a big screen and tell me just how many you think are over 4 mph?

[lgwarren]

MOST OF THEM.
You seem to be filming a short distance from Richardsons yard, so I would assume those speeding boats returning there, had an instructor aboard.
I arrived here Monday morning and I think word is getting round!!
Your video is a prime example showing most speed. I will be pointing it out to the Ranger when I meet him in the next few days. I will be keeping the pressure up.

[lgwarren]

On Monday 20th I was visited by one of the BA Rangers who spent a couple of hours monitoring the situation. However Richardson were previously spoken to regarding the speeding, and the situation has improved at my location. I showed him a number of videos, including the post from miles, which again showed the scale of the problem. I do believe he was genuinely disappointed and hoped that he could help. There is a temporary electronic sign being placed at Richardson's exit, but that doesn't help with the racers once they get past the moored boats. I did have a video of a boat with an instructor aboard speeding while teaching somebody. He wasn't impressed, and specifically asked for a copy !!. I have told him that although I appreciate his time and efforts, that I will be continuing to monitor the situation and that I will be sending any evidence of speeding to the BA (as per their previous letter to me ). I hope that all the attention that is being made is having some sort of effect on Richardson's and that things do improve some. I actually think that there is a safety case for a 3mph limit in this area due to the amount of traffic. In the mean time I will be asking for a 4mph "reminder" sign to be erected for those returners to Richardson's.

[Miles]

I was approached by a man yesterday who had just had the front of his boat smashed up very badly by a Herbert Woods boat. The boat fled the scene. This was in the area you describe.
Some of the boats coming up this stretch of water are going flat out.
The problem really affects Broads Edge marina but the real unlucky spot is those boats coming in and out of Broads Gate because that is the point where the inadequate boat tuition stops.
The problem is not just when the boats are going out as I passed early this morning to be met with a flotilla of Richardson's boats coming back in. Many were speeding and many were on the wrong side of the river even overtaking each other.
I think Richardson's have a lot to answer for and desperately need to clean their act up

[lgwarren]

100% Miles. I have witnessed the overtaking near me. I cannot understand what they are trying to achieve!!
I will document all I can while there, and will continue to make the BA aware of all I see. It is up to them to reign in Richardson's. This should not be a difficult problem to sort out. Signs & Fines. I'm a poet and didn't know it.

[lgwarren]

I hope the boat that got hit took the offending boat details and reported the incident. It is really sad that this "sh*t" goes on.

[Miles]

I hope you are watching all this today because nearly every single boat is going passed flat out....both ways.
What the hell is going on here?
Is it any wonder that so many people's boats are getting smashed up all the time. This is appalling.

[lgwarren]

Not there at present Miles. Be back in a couple of weeks.

[Miles]

There is a very simple way to end this problem on the Norfolk Broads and to return it to a national park and not a national disgrace.
The fishing scene has the V.B.S.

The ‘VBS’ is an increasingly important partnership between the Angling Trust and Environment Agency, empowering anglers to support the police and Agency in fighting back against fisheries crime and protecting fish and fisheries. The VBS initiative continues to be enormously successful, driving forward positive change.

The road Police in Sussex at least have civilian volunteers who speed check cars and pass the details of speeders on to the Police, who then send a warning letter to drivers to let them know they have been clocked.

There can't be rangers on every bank and corner yet there are boaters, so why not recruit volunteers on the Norfolk Broads to carry speed guns and cameras?

When people go passed speeding they get clocked by civilians and details passed on to the Broads Authority/Broads Beat.

The registered boat keeper then gets a letter in the post informing them that they have been recorded speeding on the waterways.

They could then get information as to why that is a problem and that it is a civil offence.

The authorities get a realistic statistic of how large the problem is.

Repeat offenders and mass company boat offences gets the authorities attention of how a company is misbehaving on the waterways and failing to take responsibility for their vessels.

The end result is boats stop speeding, banks gets eroded less, nesting birds are not nuked out of existence by mega wakes and accidents are reduced because the speeds are reduced.

Easy fix really.

[lgwarren]

Sounds like a good plan Miles, but wonder whether the BA would invest in the capital needed for the equipment, even though my fees this year alone could purchase one, and a small proportion of the fees that Richardson's pay would furnish the entire area. I will put forward the idea in my next communication with them. I think that the heat needs to be kept on and maybe we can have some impact. The more evidence that we can send to the BA the better. When I return I will be continuing to record and report. I also think that as the price of Satellite Navigation has come down drastically, that the BA should consider it as a requirement on hire craft.