Weekly 5: Boating fatalities mar holiday weekend
The BI Weekly 5 is a collection of news, tips and data affecting the boating industry this week. Be sure to look for the BI Weekly 5 every Tuesday on BoatingIndustry.com.
1. Boating fatalities mar holiday week
With a long holiday weekend comes boating in the headlines for all the wrong reasons again, with dozens of accidents making the news, many fatal. At least 17 fatalities were reported across the country.
- Four were killed in a three-boat collision following a July 4 fireworks show near Florida’s Dinner Key.
- A man was killed when the boat he was in became tangled in mangrove trees on the Little Manatee River in Ruskin, Florida on July 4.
- A South Carolina woman was killed when the boat she was in was hit by another vessel on Lake Marion early July 4.
- In Georgia, a man was killed Sunday when his boat capsized after hitting a sandbar.
- A Pennsylvania woman was killed after a crash on Raystown Lake on July 3.
- At least six died on Missouri waterways over the weekend, the state reported.
- Ahead of the holiday, three were killed when a bass boat slammed into another vessel on Texas’s Lake Conroe on July 1.
2. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signs new boating safety law
Aiming at toughening the penalties for leaving the scene of a boating accident or failing to assist victims of an accident, New Jersey’s governor has signed a new law.
The law increases the penalty to a second-degree offense for leaving the scene of an accident that results in a death, punishable by five to 10 years in prison, up to $150,000 in fines, or both.
3. Powerboat shipments up in April
After a February and March decline, powerboat wholesale shipments were up 3.8 percent year-over-year in April, NMMA reported. Through April, shipments were up 1.3 percent for the year.
4. Small business optimism down in July
After three months of increases, small business optimism dropped in July, the National Federation of Independent Businesses said. Job growth was positive, but spending growth and sales expectations were weak, said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.
5. How to increase your referral business
Repeats and referrals are the lifeblood of any good business, from service to sales. Here’s some advice from guerrilla marketing gurus Jay Conrad Levinson, and guerrilla marketing expert, Al Lautenslager on creating a referral culture.