THE collision that Brent Slough was lucky to survive should never have happened.

Mr Slough was snorkelling in Exuma – just as many a Bahamian and many a tourist had done before him – when he was struck by a speeding boat, with its propeller ripping into his body.

Speaking to The Tribune last week, he said it was “a miracle” he survived.

His case is shocking – yet the circumstances are not a shock. Too often, we have heard concerns about speeding vessels getting too close to swimmers. Too often, we have seen that right here in New Providence too – be it boats near beaches or jet skiers coming within the buoy lines at public beaches.

So we applaud the Save Exuma Alliance (SEA) for raising the alarm about reckless boating – and hope that others join their call.

“We cannot stand by and allow reckless boaters, many of whom don’t know how to read the waters of The Bahamas and particularly the shallow banks of the Exumas to carry on as if they were on the I-95 speedway,” SEA said in a statement.

Quite right. That is exactly how accidents happen, when boats move too quickly for the waters, and do not have the time to notice swimmers, divers, other vessels – and more than a few rocks they might end up on.

Over the years, The Tribune has reported on plenty of accidents at sea – and some that should not be called accidents as they are the result of reckless behaviour.

Of course, what needs to be done is enforcement. That takes money and time. It takes patrols. It takes inspections. It takes an active interest in making sure people are safe rather than leaving it to be a free-for-all at sea.

As SEA says: “We insist that every driver of a vehicle on the road take lessons and pass a very challenging test before they are licensed. Yet we allow people to hop in a boat and do whatever they want. This must stop.”

Of course, some might express concerns that such a clampdown might harm tourism. Perhaps we might counter that those who do not care for the safety of others are tourists we do not want.

It ought to be perfectly possible for tourism and safety to co-exist – indeed, we know of many people who do not venture down to beaches because they are alarmed by fast-moving jet skis or inconsiderate boaters. Perhaps such measures might encourage more visitors rather than fewer.

Regardless, safety must be a foremost consideration. Mr Slough’s injuries should never have happened. He should have been safe swimming in that space. If we do not act, then others will share his fate – or worse.

We cannot always count on miracles.