BOATING WHILE INTOXICATED CAN SHATTER LIVES

Boating is often associated with rest and relaxation, with having a good time and enjoying nature, fishing, swimming and sometimes skiing or tubing. But it is important to remember that alcohol and boating can be a dangerous combination. Not only can boating while intoxicated cause injury to both people and property, it can cost thousands of dollars in legal fees and fines, cause the drinker to spend time in jail and could end in injury or death.

Just like anyone operating a vehicle, someone operating a boat is considered legally intoxicated if their blood alcohol level is 0.08 or greater. The Boating While Intoxicated (BWI) law is enforced by game wardens, marine safety enforcement officials statewide, and also by lake rangers at Brazos River Authority reservoirs. Local law enforcement can also make arrests for BWI.

A person arrested for BWI can be jailed for up to 180 days and faces fines of up to $2,000 for a first offense. A second conviction can result in jail time of one year and a fine of up to $4,000. A third offense will result in prison time of between two and 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000. Also, those convicted of BWI can have their driver’s license suspended. In addition to state laws, operating a boat while intoxicated is a federal offense.

Unlike rules for vehicles on the road, Texas law does not require an officer to have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop a watercraft. Officers may board a watercraft at any time to see if safety-related laws are being followed, such as to check for possible BWI or to make sure those aboard have the required personal flotation devices. Refusal to submit to testing by an officer may result in the suspension of your vehicle driver’s license for at least 180 days.

But beyond the legal consequences, people can be hurt in other ways. Boating while intoxicated can shatter someone’s life, even when they weren’t the one breaking the law.

Alex Otte, age 13, was riding a jet ski on a lake in Kentucky when a bass boat going over 60 miles per hour crashed into her causing serious injury. The man operating the boat was arrested two hours after the accident and still had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

Fortunately, Otte survived, but she suffered a shattered jaw, broken neck and collarbone, two shattered femurs, a lacerated liver and was in a coma for four days. Her right leg had to be amputated.

Otte is now a spokeswoman who is dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of boating while intoxicated. Her story is detailed on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, website focusing on the dangers of boating while intoxicated. (http://www.madd.org/blog/2015/august/boating-while-intoxicated.html)

The Boat Owners Association of the United States, or BoatUS, has conducted extensive studies that show alcohol plays a role in 50 percent of all boating accidents.

Alcohol is a safety hazard for the following reasons, as listed by BoatUS:

• It affects balance, which is critical on a boat. Simply falling overboard and drowning causes at least one out of every four boating fatalities.
• It impairs judgment. Alcohol is known to reduce inhibitions, causing people to try dangerous things they would likely otherwise avoid.
• It slows reactions. When you are operating a boat, you will encounter situations that require you to be aware of several things at the same time. Alcohol delays your senses. Exposure to the sun, the motion of waves and the noise and vibration of a boat can all cause fatigue. If you add alcohol to the mix, the impairment is magnified. Combined with reduced vision at night, alcohol is an ingredient in a recipe for disaster.

Statistics compiled by the U.S. Coast Guard indicate that a boat operator who is legally intoxicated is 10 times more likely to be killed in a boating accident than a boater with zero blood alcohol content.

In 2014 (the most recent year for which data is available), the U.S. Coast Guard reported 4,064 accidents that involved 610 deaths, 2,678 injuries and approximately $39 million dollars of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents.

• The fatality rate was 5.2 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. This rate represents a 10.6 percent increase from last year’s fatality rate of 4.7 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.
• Compared to 2013, the number of accidents increased 0.05%, the number of deaths increased 8.9 percent, and the number of injuries increased 2.2%.

The Coast Guard reports that alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boat accidents, accounting for 21 percent of boating deaths nationwide. Alcohol use was listed as a contributing factor in 137 deaths in 2014, as well as 302 injuries.

Even at moderate levels, blood alcohol content can create big problems that you can avoid by having a clearer and more sober frame of mind.

While collisions are a possible consequence of BWI, the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety research indicates that about 75 percent of alcohol-related boating accidents do not involve collisions. Instead, more likely is someone falling overboard, being injured by a misstep at the dock or even getting into or out of the boat.

Those who insist on drinking alcohol while boating should appoint a designated boat operator who agrees to refrain from alcohol use. However, alcohol can be hazardous for boat passengers too, who might suffer injuries by falling.

When it comes to boating and alcohol, it’s definitely best to play it safe. Your life, or someone else’s, may depend on it.