Lava Boat Operator Turpin fined $15,000

[Justin]

I've watched how he operates his tours over a dozen times now, between being on them (at least a half dozen times) and watching them from the shore when I've hiked out to the flow. He's cancelled one of my tours when he thought the swell was too big to safely exit Pohoiki, he's given full refunds to people with back or other ailments that frankly shouldn't have ever booked in the first place (and thus just "eaten" the ticket price that could've gone to another person), and he spends 10 full minutes at every briefing telling people to stay seated when going over waves, to keep at least one hand on the boat at all times, etc.

If you look at the stats, I'm sure people are more likely to get hurt in a car accident driving to/from Pohoiki than they are on the lava boat itself. Sure, nothing is 100% safe on this planet. And that's the point - nothing is 100% safe on this planet. I personally wouldn't skydive or bungee jump, but I'm not going to devote my time and energy into trying to prevent others who want to do that from doing it.