Numerous nighttime boating accidents in recent months throughout the region, including a fatal collision in the Shoals earlier this year, have provoked passionate pleas from authorities and other boat enthusiasts to enhance lighting requirements for operating boats at night.

With arrival of the Labor Day weekend, signaling the end to the unofficial conclusion to the summer and recreational boating season, Alabama Marine Police officers are sounding another warning, asking boaters to use extra precaution if they plan to be on the water at night.

Marine police officer Chad Dyer has seen direct evidence of consequences related to boat collisions.

“Labor Day is always one of our busiest boating weekends, and we expect lots of boats on the water,” Dyer said. “People need to be extremely careful and watch out for other boats, especially if they are out at night.”

A Florence man was killed in a nighttime boating accident on Wilson Lake in June when his boat collided with another.

Evidence from the boat wreck that claimed the life of Robert Neal Hunt will be presented to a Colbert County grand jury for review, with much of the testimony expected to focus on the boats lighting.

Dyer said investigators received conflicting reports about the use of navigation lights on the two boats.

He said grand jurors will decide if criminal charges are warranted. Colbert District Attorney Bryce Graham Jr. said evidence from the boating accident will likely be presented to grand jurors this fall.

The accident attracted attention of a boating safety advocate from Texas who is lobbying regulators and boat manufacturers for more lights on boats.

Alfonso Campos, chief of marine enforcement for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is collecting details of nighttime boating accidents for a presentation he will make in November to the National Boating Safety Advisory Council. He will be soliciting support for his efforts to increase lighting on boats.

“I want to see if there is interest in taking a good long, hard look at improving boating safety,” Campos said. “With the lights we now have on boats, the boat can blend in with the lights on the shore and be difficult to see. We need more lights on boats to make sure they can be seen at night.”

Dyer, who patrols Wilson Lake, declined to discuss the Wilson Lake boat wreck, citing the ongoing investigation, but did say boaters must always use navigation lights when on the water at night.

He said boaters should always check their navigation lights before heading onto the water to ensure they are working. He said boaters might intend to be back on shore before dark, but if they lose track of time or their boat breaks down, they can endanger their lives and the lives of others if their navigation lights do not properly function.

Dyer recommends taking spare bulbs and fuses in case they are needed. In addition, he recommends boaters take along a flash light to use if the boat's lights malfunction.

“Having that flash light to signal other boaters so they can see you in the dark could save your life,” he said.

Dyer said navigation lights are not intended to help boaters see where they going. Their purpose is to help boaters to see another nearby boat.

U.S. Coast Guard regulations require recreational boats to have a combination red/green light on the front of the boat and a white light visible from 360 degrees on the rear. The front light must be visible from the side, with red on the left and green on the right.

In Alabama, the red/green lights on the front of boats must be visible for at least 1 mile. The white light on the rear must be at least 39 inches higher than any other lights and visible for at least 2 miles.

Campos said most lighting requirements for boats were developed in the 1920s and 1930s when there were fewer boats and they traveled much slower than they do today.

Navigation lights used today are often too small and dim to be seen by boaters who might be traveling more than 60 mph at night, Campos contends.

He would like to see boating laws changed so boaters are required to light their vessels on the sides, the front and the rear. He said modern lights require less electrical power than older styles, allowing boaters to light their vessels brightly without worrying about overtaxing their boat's batteries.

Campos said he's convinced the best way to reduce the number of nighttime boat collisions is to improve lighting on the vessels, making them easier to see.

“The technology is available to light these boats up like Christmas trees,” he said. “Having accidents at night when one boat did not see the other should not be an issue any more.”

Campos said the additional lights would need to be installed in a manner that would prevent them from creating glare, which could hamper the operator's ability to see at night.

“We know how to do it,” he said. “We have the technology to do it. We just need to do it.”

Lt. Erica Shipman, of Marine Police headquarters in Montgomery, said improving lighting on boats has been discussed for years. Such a change would require approval by federal and state agencies regulating boating. She said reaching a consensus on the issue could take years of negotiations.

Gary Akin, of Florence, an avid boater and boating safety instructor for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, said the existing lighting standards are adequate for the most part, but added they could use some tweaking.

“One could always argue for bigger lights, but I'm not sure about more lights,” he said.

Akin said boaters need to slow down at night, especially in areas where many lights are along the shoreline.

“Back lighting is a big problem,” he said. “When you have lots of background lights, it can be hard to see the navigation lights of a boat. The boats' lights can get lost against the background lights.”

Shipman agrees.

“A lot of our nighttime accidents occur on lakes where there are lots of homes and development along the shoreline where the boat lights can blend in with the shore lights,” he said.

Dyer said a common mistake among boaters is forgetting to turn on their red/green front light. When a boat is stationary, only the rear white light is required to be displayed. He said many boaters, especially anglers, will turn off the front light when they stop and then forget to turn it back on when they move the boat.

“It's easy to forget,” Dyer said. “It's not that people are intentionally going out on the water at night without lights on their boat. For most of them, it's just a case of forgetting to turn them on.”

Shipman said anyone who boats at night should always use their navigation lights, slow down and keep a sharp lookout for other boats, swimmers and objects in the water.

“Just because you are using your navigation lights properly does not mean everyone else is doing the same,” he said. “You must always be watching out for other boats that may not have lights or that are blending in with shoreline lights.”

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 256-740-5746 or dennis.sherer@TimesDaily.com.