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Brianna's Law was named after Brianna Lieneck, an 11-year-old Long Island girl who was killed in a 2005 boating accident. The law was enacted in 2019 to help make the state’s waters safer by requiring all boat operators to complete an approved boating safety course. The end of the law’s five-year, age-based phase-in window is fast approaching. As of January 1, 2025, all Empire State boaters, regardless of age, will need to have completed an authorized boating safety course.
The nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, the boating safety arm of Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), offers New York boaters the only free, NASBLA-approved online boating safety course that meets Brianna’s Law requirements and improves on-water safety. More than 2.5 million students have taken the BoatUS Foundation’s free online Boating Safety Courses to date, which provide approved boating safety education in 36 states including New York.
“Classroom instruction, offered by local law enforcement or the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is great, but we know hectic schedules sometimes make in-class attendance difficult,” said BoatUS Foundation director of Boating Safety Ted Sensenbrenner. “Our online course typically takes four to eight hours to complete and fits into busy lives. You take it from the comfort of home and can start, pause and restart where you left off at any time. And it’s free, thanks to generous donations by BoatUS members.”
Upon course completion, course takers may immediately print their boating safety certificate at no charge which is valid for 90 days, order a permanent card for $15, or apply for an Adventure License that marks their New York DMV-issued driver’s license with an anchor symbol indicating proof of course completion which costs $13.50
For more, go to BoatUS.org/NewYork.
