Galveston PWC injury lawyers recognize that personal watercraft (PWCs), commonly called “jet skis,” are fast and fun. Old and young alike enjoy them for their speed and their ability to carry riders through thrilling stunts. The PWC, which by design has no external rudder or propeller, benefits from the lack of the “drag” that these features would create to achieve high speeds at the surface of the water and the ability to pivot sharply. Its lack of an external propeller can also save swimmers and wildlife alike from the danger of lacerations.
The PWC drives itself through the water by an internal pump-jet, a screw-shaped impellor system that takes water in through the front and impels it back out at high speed. A movable nozzle on this system provides thrust and direction. When thrust ceases, so does directional control. The first PWCs were used primarily by trained riders as racing craft.
Beginning in the early 1980s, with the introduction of new, well-marketed, and appealing consumer models of PWC, the popularity of the craft for novice riders enjoyed an upsurge. PWCs were readily portable and affordable and owners could carry them along to weekend outings on the water as well as to longer vacations. Renters at waterside destinations could enjoy the thrill of the PWC for a small fee.
But our Galveston PWC injury lawyers caution that the highly enjoyable PWC had some limitations that novice riders and renters might not learn about until it was too late. When the throttle is released to slow the craft down, the driver loses the ability to steer. And the PWC has no braking mechanism. It must coast to a stop, over a distance often exceeding the length of a football field.
Huge numbers of accidents began to occur because PWC riders seeing themselves in danger of a collision would release the throttle to slow down and try and turn the craft away from the danger. With almost every other type of land or water vehicle, slowing and turning away from a danger could provide an effective means to escape or minimize an imminent wreck. But our Galveston PWC injury lawyers emphasize that when you release the throttle to slow your PWC, you lose the ability to steer and can’t turn away from an approaching collision.
The lack of an external propeller does reduce laceration injuries from PWCs. The bulk of PWC-related injuries are ugly, blunt-force trauma wounds inflicted from a high-speed crash. Our Galveston PWC injury lawyers note that many of these injuries prove fatal, disfiguring, or permanently disabling.
Continued in Part 2.