Members of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are charged with keeping the waterways in the state safe for anyone using them. In order to do their job effectively, they must be properly trained. Recently, these new officers have been being trained at Paris Landing where they can get training in a variety of situations, such as how to pull a vessel over and how to deal with the public.
Senior officers helped these younger officers to learn how to maneuver vessels in windy or other adverse situations. They also learned how to do special maneuvers at a high rate of speed or in close quarters when boating traffic is considerable. The officers also learned how to navigate around barge traffic, channel buoys and secondary channel buoys.
The officers will also undergo training to learn how to determine if someone is boating under the influence. They will also learn how to handle firearms. The goal of all the training is that these officers should be able to safely handle a variety of situations that could prove to be dangerous to them or the public.
The fact that these officers are undergoing this type of training serves as a reminder for all boaters that there is no such thing as someone not needing training to boat on the waterways. Lack of experience is one thing that can lead to accidents. For those who are injured in boating accidents, the cause of the accident is usually the last thing on their minds. In those cases, however, the cause can play a big part in being awarded compensation for their injuries.
Source: The Paris Post-Intelligencer, “New officers undergo training in Paris Landing area” Steve McCadams, Aug. 08, 2014
