← The Don Rosen Show
The Don Rosen Show
Staying Safe With Jerome Hipper And Tom Knitter
00:18:21
Staying Safe: Water Safety with Deputy Jerome Hipper of the Racine County Sheriff Office Water Patrol; and Tom Knitter from the Racine County Traffic Safety Commission The Don Rosen Show is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday throu
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- [00:01]
A
The sun's rising, the coffee's burnin. Without wrjn, it's our monthly visit to Staying Safe with the Racine County Traffic Safety Commission here at wrjn. Our guest, Deputy Jerome Hipper. He is with the Racine for the Racine County Sheriff's Office. Winter. It's in the winter for water patrol. And Tom Nitter is here as well. He puts us all together for us every month. Welcome, Deputy.
- [00:28]
B
Welcome. Thank you.
- [00:29]
A
I gotta ask you first, is this one of those jobs, especially during the summer? Right now it's a little cool, but in July and August when it's hot outside, the people say, oh, yeah. Who'd you have to kiss up to to get the water patrol?
- [00:40]
B
Pretty much, yeah, I hear that a lot. I just get to cruise around like Michigan all summer long. It's. It's a rough job.
- [00:46]
A
Is that what you do, all that just cruise around?
- [00:48]
B
Cruise around and then just make sure everybody's following the safety rules and they're staying safe.
- [00:52]
A
Couple lemonades out there. Sandwich, maybe put a fishing line in just in case.
- [00:57]
B
Yeah, we haven't got authorization for that yet, but we keep trying.
- [00:59]
A
Okay. It's a serious job because people do get in trouble. I saw the news yesterday. This guy was parasailing. Not parasailing, wind, sailing. And he hit a whale. The whale just came up out of the water. Boom. Knocked him right out. And he was in the water. Whale wasn't hurt. He wasn't hurt. He said it was an odd thing, but wow. He was just gliding. Whale came up, he ran right into him.
- [01:22]
B
You never know what's going to come out of the water or what's going to happen.
- [01:25]
A
Yeah, we don't have whales in Lake Michigan yet, so we don't know. So tell us about the job, water safety, what do you do? And it kicks in. What, tomorrow you said we're going to
- [01:34]
B
be launching our boats either today or tomorrow. And so we'll have the boats in the water and then basically it's just going around making sure everybody's staying safe. We check boats to make sure that they're up on their safety codes and that they're following the rules. We also keep an eye on north beach and the swim area there, make sure the boats are staying out of it and trying to keep the swimmers in it because it's the safest area to swim in.
- [01:52]
A
And we did have some trouble in north beach in the past several years. I remember if you go to north beach, right at the end where the pier is, I remember somebody drowned there.
- [02:02]
B
We've had several people drown there off North Pier, and that's due to a lot of the conditions and the wave patterns there.
- [02:08]
A
I never got involved in a rip current. In my mind, I can't imagine not being able to move in a rip current. I grew up on the beach. I grew up on the Atlantic Ocean. I was there every day during the summer. I never got into that kind of situation, though.
- [02:21]
B
Well, you can move in a rip current. The problem is a rip current is moving away from shore, and it's moving at a high velocity, so you're not going to be able to fight it and get back to shore. You actually have to swim sideways so that you get out of the current, or you're just going to exhaust yourself and not move anywhere or even move further out if the current's strong enough.
- [02:36]
A
I hear stories about it all the time. I just was never involved in it, so I can't imagine it. Let's talk about boating. The boats are going in the water. Your boats are going in tomorrow. People boating yet?
- [02:44]
B
Actually, there's already a couple boats in the marina, so there are boats that have been going out.
- [02:48]
A
Okay. You got to watch what you're doing when you have a boat. I. I've been on about three boats in my lifetime. I told you, I'm not a big water person and. But I love it when I go out. As long as somebody else is, you know, taking care of all the boating. How do you prepare yourself for. For getting out this season? Obviously, you have to have a license, right?
- [03:07]
B
Yes. If you're under a certain age, you have to have a license through DNR to operate a boat. And if you're doing anything commercially, you have to have captain's license. But basically, it's making sure your boat's in good shape, it's maintained, and has all these safety equipment. Fire extinguishers, flares. PFDs are big. We actually want people to wear the PFDs on the boat, not just have whiff, because if you fall off the boat and the PFD is in it, it doesn't do you any good.
- [03:28]
A
Pfd, Personal Flotation device, Correct? Yeah, I learned that. You know how I learned it? When we were doing this last year, I learned that phrase. Now, what do you have to have by law in your boat before you launch it?
- [03:41]
B
Well, it depends on the size of the boat. So boats under a certain amount need different requirements and boats over 16 foot. But the biggest things are fire extinguishers, flares in case you get in trouble. The PFDs, if it's an open construction boat, you actually have to have a lanyard so that if you fall off, it kills the engine. So it just doesn't keep going without you.
- [04:01]
A
No. That's interesting. I saw once on the news, the boat was going around in circles because somebody fell off and the boat was going around, and somebody in your position made a leap boat and shut it down. I said, whoa, one inch. And he would have been in the water getting run over by the boat. But he. I had to just stop it.
- [04:23]
B
Yeah, you got to stop them somehow. And that's what the lanyards for, to shut it down. And that boat, it'll automatically kick the engine to one side and start that circle. And it happens often where people fall out by themselves. The boat circles and it ends up hitting them, running them over. So we've actually trained to go up to another boat, jump into it, and then shut it down.
- [04:41]
A
Life jackets. A lot of people say, I'm not going to wear that thing. When I got on the boat, I Where's the life jack? I need one that fits me. And you look at me now. I lost 34 pounds, but I was bigger. And I said, I need one that. Well, here. This is one of the kids. No, I don't want a kid's one. I want one that fits me. Because if I go in, you know, I can swim, but I don't know if I could swim in the ocean.
- [05:03]
B
Proper size is key. You gotta have the right fit for the person. And there's actually life jacket stations down by the launch, the small boat basin, and then that DNR has a program people can borrow life jackets from and then hang them up. There's little spots to hang them up so that they dry and then they get put back inside when they're done.
- [05:21]
A
Now, do you have to have a life jacket for everybody? Is that a law? It's a good idea, but is it a law?
- [05:26]
B
No, it's a law. You have to have one life jacket that fits for everybody on board. So if you have some kid life jackets and you're counting them for adults, that's not going to cut it.
- [05:35]
A
What's the penalty?
- [05:37]
B
It's a $232 fine.
- [05:39]
A
Cheaper to get them.
- [05:41]
B
It's a lot cheaper to get them.
- [05:42]
A
Here's another big thing. Drinking. A lot of people party on these boats, and even if you think you can handle your alcohol out in the heat, it even makes it worse when you're drinking.
- [05:52]
B
Yeah, it can affect you more Even though your alcohol content's the same, but your judgment is going to be less because your body reacts differently when you're out in the heat and out in the sun. So we don't recommend drinking when you're driving the boats. It's just not a safe thing to do.
- [06:06]
A
There was a famous case, and I think it's still in the courts. A wealthy guy, he was a lawyer, and his son. I can't remember the name of this guy. If I said it, I think you know the case. His son brought a bunch of his teenage friends on the boat. They were all drinking, and he went under a bridge and he hit one of the pylons. Pylons in the bridge. And a young girl fell out and drowned. And he tried to make it that it wasn't his son's fault and it was his son's fault. And, you know, when kids get out in boats and they start drinking, everybody thinks they can handle their alcohol. Now, I don't drink, so I don't know what it's like to. To have that. But it's dangerous stuff.
- [06:51]
B
It is. It really is.
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A
Now, can you get a di DUI on water like you can on land?
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B
You can. Yep. If you're over the limit or you're being impaired by the alcohol, you can get a. Operating while toxicated on a boat.
- [07:03]
A
Now, how do you know when to. You can know when to stop a car. They're speeding, they swerving all over the. How do you know when to stop a boat?
- [07:10]
B
It all depends on what they're doing. We have to see something that we can clearly establish that, you know, they're drunk from that. A lot of times we stop them for another reason. You know, if they have something else going on. And then when we start talking to them and interacting with them, you can definitely tell.
- [07:23]
A
Yeah, I saw another one on. On one of those YouTube channels they tried to stop. This giant cabin cruiser was stolen. And unlike on land, you can't do a pit maneuver, especially when the police boat's one third the size of this, you know, luxury yacht or whatever it was. It was a yacht and he stole it. And eventually they boxed him in and the yacht got damaged, but they got it back and they could fix it. But that's dangerous stuff on the water. I mean, we look at. We joked before that you're having a good time out there, but it's just like land. You get in trouble and it is.
- [07:55]
B
And it's even more so dangerous than land, where it's harder for people to get out to you when you need help. You know, on here, on land, you can get squad cars rolling to you pretty quickly and get a lot of people there when you need help. Out there, it's pretty much just us.
- [08:07]
A
It's staying safe. In the Racine County Traffic Safety Commission, Water safety deputy Jerome Hipper is here. He's on the water patrol. That's kind of neat, Deputy. And the water patrol kicks in tomorrow for you guys, huh?
- [08:18]
B
Yep. We are going to get the boats in and start patrolling the water now that the ice is finally left and the weather's getting a little. At least a little bit nicer, or
- [08:24]
A
it was thunderstorms tomorrow. Pretty dangerous.
- [08:26]
B
It can be, but we've got the gear for it. We've got the boats for it. We got a big 41 footer. It can handle quite a bit.
- [08:31]
A
Okay. And the Tom Nitter is here from the Racine County Traffic Safety Commission as well. Let's talk about personal watercraft. Let's talk about operating that boat generally during daylight hours. Tough at night because it really can't see much.
- [08:44]
B
Well, you can't see much water. Personal watercress have no lights on them. They're not allowed to be operated at night at all due to that fact. And they're just. They go fast. They're hard to see. So the state decided that they're not allowed to be operated at night.
- [08:57]
A
Says operators 12 to 15 years old have to have a valid boating safety certificate. 12 years old?
- [09:02]
B
Yep. 12 years old with a valid certificate from DNR and you can operate them.
- [09:06]
A
12 years old. When I was 12 years old, I operated my two wheeler and I thought that was a lot. Wow. And avoid horseplay. Never operate a personal watercraft facing backward.
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B
No, it's not safe to do it. All you're going to fall off of
- [09:20]
A
this is obvious stuff.
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B
Some people still need to be reminded about it.
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A
Whoa. All right. Got some safety tips here. Plan. File a boat plan with a trusted person, including your route and a return time. Don't file it with the person who's in the boat with you. Bad idea.
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B
That's a very bad idea. Yeah. We need somebody to be able to tell us where you're going and about the time you're supposed to be back if you go missing and we have to try and come find you.
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A
Charts. You need charts in the boat, too now, do you need them for Lake Michigan?
- [09:49]
B
It depends on where you're going. If you're going near shore, you do. There are some areas that get really shallow that's why we have the lighthouse outside Racine. Because there's a reef out there. It gets down to like three feet.
- [09:59]
A
Alcohol. Now alcohol in the sun is even worse than alcohol sitting in your living room. Correct.
- [10:05]
B
It affects you a lot more out in the sun.
- [10:06]
A
You get a lot of alcoholic people out there during the summer.
- [10:09]
B
We get a lot of people that are drinking. We don't get too many people that are actually impaired. It's usually the passengers on the boat who are having a good time. And most of our boat operators are very responsible.
- [10:19]
A
So that's good. Everybody else has a good time. You don't. That's like you're the designated driver.
- [10:23]
B
Exactly. You're just the designated operator.
- [10:25]
A
That's good. All right, let's talk about safety tips. Let's talk about rules. There were certain rules and regulations boating. Now you don't have to have a boating license if you're an adult.
- [10:38]
B
You don't have to have a boating license if you're born after a certain date. So it's an age thing and it's slowly progressing. So there are adults out there. In fact, we have adults that are on our water safety patrol that have to have their boating certificate. Just operate our own boats.
- [10:51]
A
Weather huge. If you see like tomorrow having thunderstorms. If you see violent thunderstorms on the lake, it's got to be a red flag for you not to go out.
- [10:59]
B
It is. Or a red flag to get back in. The weather in Lake Michigan can change very quickly. I've seen it going from almost no waves to five, six footers that are going to cause some little bullets problems and probably even swamp them. And it changes very fast out there.
- [11:14]
A
Let's go on some of these requirements. Personal flotation devices, life jackets. That is, one properly sized life jacket is required per person. Now types 1, 2 and 3 are wearable. What is that?
- [11:25]
B
That means you types 1, 2 and 3 you can put on and wear. A type 4 is a throwable. So it's like a seat cushion that's designed as a type 4 PFD. You can't wear it.
- [11:35]
A
Well, that's the type you have on a. On an airplane.
- [11:39]
B
It'd be similar to something on an airplane. Not quite the same, but very close. And those are required on bigger boats as well. Have a throwable in case somebody falls in. And then there's even a type 5, which is a specific operational use. And those have to be worn to be counted. You can't just be in a boat with you.
- [11:53]
A
One guy on comedian said when he heard over the PA System on the plane, your seat cushion will serve as a personal flotation device. He said, no, we going down. That seat cushion is serving as my toilet. He's right. All right. What's a type V? That must be worn, considered legal.
- [12:12]
B
That's the type 5.
- [12:13]
A
They use the Roman numeral type 5. Okay, that's good. So you have to know these things. Fire extinguishers. You think that would be obvious because boats can overheat, engines can catch fire.
- [12:22]
B
There's gasoline and oil moving around in there. You also have the battery compartments. So, yeah, fire extinguisher is a definite must. And make sure that it's operational and that the little dial on it is in the green and not the red because they do go bad over time. They have expiration dates, and they have to be current.
- [12:38]
A
I don't want to sound too. I don't know if the word I'm looking for is too paranoid, but we have a whole bunch of fire extinguishers at home. Got them, like, all over. These little fire extinguishers. I'm ready. I grab it. Some of them are powder ones.
- [12:51]
B
Yep. And those work just fine. You can use those on the boat as well.
- [12:54]
A
We got them in all rooms in the house. And my wife says, well, what do you have so many. I'm ready.
- [12:59]
B
You just never know.
- [13:00]
A
I'm not gonna burn.
- [13:02]
C
So one thing I would suggest with that, Don, is at least once a year, turn the fire extinguisher over, pound on it a little bit.
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A
Just one right back of the air.
- [13:12]
C
Make sure. Because the powder can compress and it can.
- [13:14]
A
Okay.
- [13:15]
C
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [13:16]
A
These are little ones, though.
- [13:18]
C
Same thing.
- [13:19]
B
Yeah.
- [13:19]
A
So we got one right there. We have people come in and check it from the fire extinguisher company comes in. All right. Navigation lights. These are important. These are the running lights on boats, correct?
- [13:28]
B
Yep. You've got green and red ones so that other boats, when they see you know which way you're going and which way they need to go to avoid you. And then white ones as well, just for visibility.
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A
What is a bilge ventilation system? What is that?
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B
So bilge is a compartment in the boat that's enclosed. It's usually like where the engines and stuff are if you don't have outboards. The ventilation system is basically a fan that takes those gases that are building up in there and pushes them outside the boat so that it doesn't blow up.
- [13:53]
A
It's a visual distress signal.
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B
That's the flares. So. Yep. Players are visual distress signals. So they do. Yeah. So they have some that are very similar to road flares, but they're made out of special materials, so you can hold them in your hand. And then they have the aerial ones that you can just shoot into the air when you're in distress.
- [14:08]
A
How far away can you see those?
- [14:09]
B
It depends on which flare it is. The ones that go into the air, the smaller ones are visible for like a mile or two. And they have some really high, powerful ones that have, like, parachutes on them that they're visible quite a ways.
- [14:19]
A
Last two minutes here. Let's talk about North Beach. Making some improvements out there, huh?
- [14:23]
B
Yep. Yeah. So we've put in some life rings off of North Pier by North beach, so if anybody falls in, they can be thrown a life ring and pulled back in. There's also a sign out there that indicates if it's safe to go in the water or not, if you should be swimming in the water, because it's hard to tell sometimes by looking at it which way the currents are going, the wind is going. So they're trying to keep everybody safe there. Biggest thing they can do if they're going to go out swimming is swim in swim area. It's specifically moved away from North Pier so that the currents that developed aren't going through the swim area. And there's lifeguards there in case you get in trouble.
- [14:54]
A
And we're not talking about the New Year's Day stuff like my wife used to do. Jump into the lake when it's like 10 degrees outside.
- [15:00]
B
Yeah, the polar plunge.
- [15:02]
A
I said, why are you doing this? You know, no good to get to come out of it. Okay. You're either going to get a cold, sick, or fall in the water and freeze one of the. But they had lifeguards all around watching people. So much help with that triathlon they used to do.
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B
Yeah, we had a lot of lifeguards. We even had dive team members out for that just case people got in trouble.
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A
Now, they once told me how they know if someone got lost in the water. They count the number of bicycles, and if there's one bicycle left over, somebody didn't get out of the water. And that's. I. That's clever.
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B
Yeah, that is how they did it. Now they're tracking them a little bit better and numbers and they can even use devices.
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A
All right, so what do they miss today? Anything? I get them all in.
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B
No, I think you got everything covered. Only biggest thing is if you're gonna go on Lake Michigan and swim, learn how to swim and swim in the swim area. It'll keep you the safest.
- [15:48]
A
You know how much I, I went into Lake Michigan once up to my ankles and it was nice, cool, cooled my feet down as to walk my dog on the. One of the ends where you're allowed to walk dogs. And I put my feet in the water and the dog trying to get away from the water. But I grew up, you know, it's funny because I grew up in the ocean. I was out in the ocean every single day. And now I don't like the water. I don't know why. And this is calmer than what I used to do. I mean there were heavy waves. One time I'm in the water, I was 8, 9 years old. My mother wasn't watching me as usual and I looked, I was looking for them and a wave took me and turned me upside down over and over and over. And I was, I was sucking in the water and then the wave went out. Not one person, it was busy. Not one person helped me. I guess they just thought I was having fun. And I'm like, maybe that's why I don't go to the water anymore.
- [16:40]
B
That could very well be. That's what we're trying to avoid.
- [16:43]
A
Now you were going to tell us we have something else coming up. Something new, huh?
- [16:46]
C
Yeah, a couple new topics.
- [16:47]
A
This is Tom Nitter, by the way.
- [16:48]
C
Yes, good, good morning and thanks for having us on this morning. A couple of new topics that we're going to be introducing in the next few months. So we're going to try to come up with a poster that deals with rail crossing or grade crossings with railroads and railroad safety. There's a number of people that take a lot of chances when they try to beat the train.
- [17:09]
A
And I'll tell you something, I grew up a block from the Long Island Railroad and I can't tell you how many people got killed. Two friends of mine killed on the crossing. The tracks and many other cars hit. Now they're elevated because my mother and a bunch of hundreds of other mothers took their kids and everything. Formed a human chain link around the busiest highway. Nobody in till we meet with the railroad people. The cops are there trying to break them up. What do you do with these mothers? You can't be Billy clubbing them. You can't be tear gassing mothers with their children. So they were smart. They brought the kids and they met with the Long island railroad official. And today the railroad track is raised thanks to those mothers because they got a commitment from them. The news crews were there. That was their job. They said we lost too many people dying. And so they raised the tracks to this day. Thank you. Deputy Jerome Hipper from the Racine County Sheriff's Office. He's on the water patrol. Kicking in tomorrow. Correct. Got your lemonade. You got your sandwiches?
- [18:06]
B
It's a little too cold yet to be kicking back out there and. But we'll get there.
- [18:11]
A
And Tom Nitter from the Racine County Traffic Safety Commission, thank you for coming in. Thanks for arranging these things, by the way.
- [18:16]
B
You're very welcome.
- [18:16]
A
And we'll see you next month again. All right. First Wednesday of the month.
- [18:19]
C
Very good.
- [18:20]
A
We'll do that. Water safety.