CBulla and I are working on an education group. I have seen that some, I repeat, SOME of the problems could be reduced if people understood what the flags meant, and what vehicluar manslaughter means if they kill a diver or swimmer.
I did my own little poll here after I returned from my Venice Haircut dive and found many boaters here have NO idea what that flag is. Some thought it was a channel marker, others thought they were fishtrap or crabtrap markers. Once they were advised of divers just below the surface, one of them committed to informing other boaters. This was a definite plus.
We can't do much about the idiots who use them as race buoys, however, I have spoken to an attorney about the legal issue of self-defense. He says it is viewed differently for boaters. You would have to prove that the individual knew what the flag meant and that they were actually intending to HARM the diver. He also said that since boater insurance is optional, and boaters are not licensed, it would be very difficult to keep them from boating as long as they had registration stickers so they don't get pulled over.
He strongly suggested getting law enforcement involved or the videotaping and civil suits for reckless endangerment. Once a few suits have been settled in court, (especially a few agains the state) the precedent will be set, and news stations will get word of it, maybe then people will become more aware.
The major problem, as we've said before, is the furtherence of the diver vs. boater war that seems predominant in Florida. If they feel it's a diver vs boater situation, they might actually TRY to cause problems.
