FYI - Be Careful This Weekend
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:58 am
Nationwide Crackdown On Drunk Boaters
Set for this Coming Weekend
June 23, 2010, Washington, DC---Boaters would do well to leave the cold beer at
home this weekend. Marine law enforcement officers will be out in full force June 25-27
for Operation Dry Water, a nationwide crackdown on those Boating Under the Influence
(BUI) of alcohol or drugs. This is the second year of this national campaign and this year
all 56 states and territories are participating, with more than 5,000 marine law
enforcement officers from 141 state and federal agencies expected to be on patrol.
Boaters found to be impaired can expect severe penalties, including fines, jail time, loss
of boating privileges, even loss of driving privileges.
BUI is a serious problem. Each year approximately one of every five fatalities
from recreational boat accidents is directly related to drunk boaters, according to statistics
compiled by the U.S. Coast Guard. The intent of Operation Dry Water is both to educate
boat operators in advance of the July 4th holiday and to get those boating under the
influence off the water.
"We want people to have fun, but we intend to exercise zero tolerance for BUI,â€
said John Fetterman, Law Enforcement Director of the National Association of State
Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) and national spokesperson for Operation Dry
Water.
Operation Dry Water – coordinated by NASBLA, in partnership with the states,
the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies – has seen phenomenal growth. Agencies and
organizations from 46 states and 5 territories participated in the first Operation Dry Water
in June 2009. Over that three-day weekend, 2,442 marine law enforcement officers made
contact with 17,454 recreational vessels and issued 5,320 boating safety warnings, 283
BUI citations and 1,127 citations for other violations. This year, all 56 states, trusts and
territories will participate, with more than double the number of marine law enforcement
officers on the lookout for boat operators whose blood alcohol concentration exceeds the
national limit of .08 percent.
Alcohol can impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time. It can
increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion. Sun, wind,
noise, vibration and motion – “stressors†common to the boating environment – intensify
the side effects of alcohol, drugs, and some prescription medications. Authorities contend
that this BUI crackdown is just as important to public safety as the enforcement of drunk
driving laws.
Set for this Coming Weekend
June 23, 2010, Washington, DC---Boaters would do well to leave the cold beer at
home this weekend. Marine law enforcement officers will be out in full force June 25-27
for Operation Dry Water, a nationwide crackdown on those Boating Under the Influence
(BUI) of alcohol or drugs. This is the second year of this national campaign and this year
all 56 states and territories are participating, with more than 5,000 marine law
enforcement officers from 141 state and federal agencies expected to be on patrol.
Boaters found to be impaired can expect severe penalties, including fines, jail time, loss
of boating privileges, even loss of driving privileges.
BUI is a serious problem. Each year approximately one of every five fatalities
from recreational boat accidents is directly related to drunk boaters, according to statistics
compiled by the U.S. Coast Guard. The intent of Operation Dry Water is both to educate
boat operators in advance of the July 4th holiday and to get those boating under the
influence off the water.
"We want people to have fun, but we intend to exercise zero tolerance for BUI,â€
said John Fetterman, Law Enforcement Director of the National Association of State
Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) and national spokesperson for Operation Dry
Water.
Operation Dry Water – coordinated by NASBLA, in partnership with the states,
the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies – has seen phenomenal growth. Agencies and
organizations from 46 states and 5 territories participated in the first Operation Dry Water
in June 2009. Over that three-day weekend, 2,442 marine law enforcement officers made
contact with 17,454 recreational vessels and issued 5,320 boating safety warnings, 283
BUI citations and 1,127 citations for other violations. This year, all 56 states, trusts and
territories will participate, with more than double the number of marine law enforcement
officers on the lookout for boat operators whose blood alcohol concentration exceeds the
national limit of .08 percent.
Alcohol can impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time. It can
increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion. Sun, wind,
noise, vibration and motion – “stressors†common to the boating environment – intensify
the side effects of alcohol, drugs, and some prescription medications. Authorities contend
that this BUI crackdown is just as important to public safety as the enforcement of drunk
driving laws.
Pass one over here floaty. 
