Boat blast basis for seeking insurance law
Widow of local man
killed in explosion
wants to help others
BYSANDICARPELLO
Staff Writer

Assemblymen John Wisniewski (l) and Joseph Vas during a recent press conference at a Sayreville marina with Veronica McGloan and children Donald Jr. and Denise.

SAYREVILLE — After two years of unremitting hardships, Veronica McGloan wants to make sure others won’t endure the same pain and suffering.

That’s why the South Amboy resident, whose 47-year-old husband, Donald, was killed in an explosion aboard a friend’s boat in June 2002, is lobbying for a new law requiring boat owners to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance.

Because New Jersey boat owners are not required to carry liability coverage, and because the boat on which Donald McGloan was killed was among New Jersey’s many uninsured vessels, McGloan and her two adult children were unable to collect financial restitution after her husband’s death. Receiving no money to cover funeral costs and medical bills and struggling to make financial ends meet, McGloan approached Assemblymen John Wisniewski, Joseph Vas (both D-19th District) and Neil Cohen (D-20th District) about the need for a mandatory boat insurance law.

"If my husband had died in a car accident or a motorcycle accident, we would have been able to collect something," said McGloan, who works full time and whose 20-year-old son was forced to relinquish his dreams of attending college in order to help his mother pay the bills. "Having a boat insured is the responsible thing to do."

Although some private marinas require boats moored at their docks to be insured in case of an accident that damages their property or other boats, most do not.

Under the proposed legislation, which was introduced by the three assemblymen early this month, coverage limits would be set at $100,000 for one person and $200,000 in the event an accident kills or injures more than one person.

Boat owners who fail to carry the necessary liability insurance would be subject to fines between $300 and $1,000 and a one-year suspension of their boating license. Boaters who fail to insure their vessels after a first-time offense would be punished by a fine of up to $5,000 and a two-week jail term.

The vessels also must be registered with the state to maintain liability coverage, insuring against a passenger’s injury or death.

"While we try to do everything we can to keep our waterways safe, tragic accidents do occur," Wisniewski said during a recent press conference at a marina off Route 35 in Sayreville. "The families of those injured or killed in New Jersey’s waterways have no less a right to adequate compensation as the families of those hurt or killed on our roads."

The proposed legislation may not make the Assembly floor until September or October, according to Assembly spokesman Derek Roseman. However, if the law is enacted, New Jersey would be the first state to mandate boaters to carry such coverage. 

"It won’t benefit me," McGloan said. "I just hope it will help others."