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View Full Version : Parker? AZ or CA law? Help!



htm56
06-26-2007, 08:07 PM
I am out at parker last weekend and on friday evening the traffic on the river had slowed a little and the wife and kids wanted to go for a float. My son is 15 years old and wanted to ride the wave-runner to follow behind. We left the big bend area and headed up to the dam. As we passed 2 La Paz County boats one of them followed in behind us all the way to the dam. My son stayed behind the boat about 50-100 yards inside the wake the whole time. The Shariff stopped about 15 - 20 feet from our boat and just sat there watching us for about 2-3 min. untill my daughter asked if they had any frisbies they were handing out since in the past both my little ones had gotten a frisbie for wearing there life jackets on the boat. The officer quickly replied that wearing life vests is the law and not an option and no they don't hand out frisbies for kids obeying the law. My 4y/o son and 9 y/o daughter were now very embaressed for asking and didn't understand why he was so rude.
The officer then quickly turned his attention to me and asked me how old my son was on the Wave-runner. When I said he was 15 he stated that California law is that he must be 16. The officer stated he was an AZ officer, so he can't do anything about it but we needed to be aware that he was breaking the law and that we will be cited. I then asked for clarification it told me that it is not his job to explain the law, simply to enforce it. Baffled, I then asked who's law I am supposed to follow since I am from Nevada, staying on the AZ side, and was being talked to by an AZ officer. He didn't give a straight answer, so the wife and I decided to simply start up the boat and move up river a couple hundred yards to enjoy the rest of the trip.
So is there an answer? Does it only depend on which officer pulls you over? Does it matter where the ski is registered, where you live, or where you are camped at? What is AZ law? (I thought it was 12 or 14). Will the CA officer respect AZ law in this type situation? Whys is the AZ cop stating CA law? and no he wasn't just trying to be nice.

HocusPocus
06-26-2007, 08:13 PM
AZ and Ca officers can enforce the laws on the river. Az i believe is 13 to operate and Ca is 16, boatcop would be able to anwer this best.

Ziggy
06-26-2007, 08:27 PM
from my understanding, the waterways are enforced by either state by their laws, shore to shore. In other words, an Az officer can site you for Az laws anywhere on the water, and vice versa for a Ca. officer.
.
I'm sure I'll be corrected if wrong.:)

gmocnik
06-26-2007, 08:56 PM
yep...cali cops can enforce the cali laws on the arizona "side" and vice versa.
had the "pleasure" of dealing with a boat load of san bernardino county leo a few years back..total xxxxheads...pretty much the only boat on the lake on a wednesday in august...on the az side..az stickers on the boat and the jet ski...az id for the kids...one of our 15 olds on the ski not 50 yards from us...they felt "obligated" to cite him...total b.s.....the alpha male was showing off for his other bitches...
i see the s.b. guys cruising the channel all the time and it irritates me...quess the sceneray is better there than in fontana...

Boatcop
06-27-2007, 05:37 AM
from my understanding, the waterways are enforced by either state by their laws, shore to shore. In other words, an Az officer can site you for Az laws anywhere on the water, and vice versa for a Ca. officer.
.
I'm sure I'll be corrected if wrong.:)
Zig is correct. There is no "side" of the River.
As far as the 15 year old on a PWC, would you allow your 15 year old to drive a motorcycle, capable of 60+ MPH, on the Freeway at rush hour? With no license? No Formal Instruction? No Brakes? Even if you were close by and he was following you?
Probably not. But you don't have a problem turning them out on the Parker Strip on a weekend afternoon?
The Officer was doing you a favor, and letting you know the law, so that you wouldn't get cited by California Authorities. And not only would the 15 year old get a ticket. The parent would get a ticket for allowing them to operate underage.

ULTRA26 # 1
06-27-2007, 06:09 AM
Zig is correct. There is no "side" of the River.
As far as the 15 year old on a PWC, would you allow your 15 year old to drive a motorcycle, capable of 60+ MPH, on the Freeway at rush hour? With no license? No Formal Instruction? No Brakes? Even if you were close by and he was following you?
Probably not. But you don't have a problem turning them out on the Parker Strip on a weekend afternoon?
The Officer was doing you a favor, and letting you know the law, so that you wouldn't get cited by California Authorities. And not only would the 15 year old get a ticket. The parent would get a ticket for allowing them to operate underage.
Alan,
Does the two jurisdictions issue apply to Havasu as well?

voodoomedman
06-27-2007, 06:14 AM
Wasn't Arizona looking at upping the age to 16?
My guess is that the law was written when PWC's weren't thought of. In a boat you can be sitting right next to the 12 year old and teaching him the ropes and be able to take over if necessary. I will be doing that with my kids. On a PWC 15 may or may not be alright but I would be sure they knew how to operate safely. Simply having them close doesn't cut it. It's like the ones that are drunk so someone follows them to make sure they get home safe. Following them isn't going to keep them from killing someone.
With that said, if the officer was rude that isn't cool especially if he was in fact rude to the kids.

ColeTR2
06-27-2007, 06:42 AM
The Parker Strip is a very dangerous place. History has proven that! Not the best place for kids on PWC's. To protect and to serve that's what cops are payed to do. In this case sounds like the cop could of served you the information in a better way. But in the end he was just trying to protect you and your family.

Parker Dreamin
06-27-2007, 06:51 AM
untill my daughter asked if they had any frisbies they were handing out since in the past both my little ones had gotten a frisbie for wearing there life jackets on the boat. The officer quickly replied that wearing life vests is the law and not an option and no they don't hand out frisbies for kids obeying the law. My 4y/o son and 9 y/o daughter were now very embaressed for asking and didn't understand why he was so rude.
This is what I do not like. It is much easier to be nice then to be rude, to little kids.. come on.

Havasu_Dreamin
06-27-2007, 07:34 AM
Alan,
Does the two jurisdictions issue apply to Havasu as well?
John, yes it does. Each agency has jurisdictiion from shore to shore.
The different agencies on Havasu with law enforcement responsibilities:
San Bernardino County Sheriff
California Department of Fish and Game
Mohave County Sheriff
Lake Havasu City PD
La Paz County Sheriff
Arizona Game and Fish
Bureau of Land Management
US Fish and Wildlife
US Coast Guard

htm56
06-27-2007, 07:41 AM
Thanks boat cop! ya the parker strip isn't the best place for kids on a PWC. Friday afternoon was quiet, so I did allow my son to ride the ski one last time before the weekend started. I grew up on the parker strip and do not allow the kids to ride on weekends. Just thought there may have been a better way to approach the boat and the kids. My kids only interaction with La Paz was unfortunatly a bad one. I know you guys run into a lot of attitudes on the river, but every now and then I would think that they could deciifer between a boat of attitudes and a boat of kids looking to interact with a police officer. Now unfortunatly my kids "love" you guys along with 99% of the rest of the population. I appreciate the fact that you post some great information on this site, thanks for the info and the lecture. Lesson learned! Lots of young new cops seem to be out on the river, and interaction with the community obviosly isn't part of the academy. Lesson learned for my kids was "don't fail the firemans exam they would hate to become a cop". Sorry boat cop had to get a dig in somewhere. Again I do appreciate the info you put out on the site. I will adhere to CA law, it was time to get rid of the old ski anyway. By the way it was a 1980's style wave-runner, couldn't do 40 mph if he was going down river with a strong wind at his back.

RaceFace
06-27-2007, 07:47 AM
This is what I do not like. It is much easier to be nice then to be rude, to little kids.. come on.
This is what I was thinking too. I have young boys and am trying to teach them to not be afraid to talk to the police about anything....police are our friends...and are always friendly. Then I read things like this and wonder what I'm supposed to tell my boys if we end up in a situation like that. "Sorry he acted that way son, he must be having a bad day?!?!?!"
Not good enough....

ColeTR2
06-27-2007, 08:29 AM
Lots of young new cops seem to be out on the river, and interaction with the community obviosly isn't part of the academy.
Well said!