Operation Dry Water to Target Impaired Boaters on June 25 Weekend
From the Journal Staff Report:
PROVIDENCE — Safe-boating patrols will be stepped up the weekend of June 25 in a joint operation by the state Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Law Enforcement and U.S. Coast Guard units from Castle Hill and Point Judith, the DEM said Thursday.
The effort is part of Operation Dry Water, a coordinated national weekend of boating-under-the-influence detection and enforcement. It aims to reduce the number of alcohol-related accidents and fatalities, and foster a stronger deterrent to alcohol use on the water.
Marine law-enforcement officers will be out in full force on Rhode Island waterways, searching for boat operators whose blood-alcohol content exceeds 0.08 percent. Rhode Island law sets limits and penalties for boating while intoxicated that are similar to the driving-while-intoxicated standards, and require the same level of testing.
Alcohol impairment “has become the leading contributing factor in fatal recreational boating accidents,” Steven Hall, chief of the DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement, said in the news release.
According to Hall, alcohol can affect a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time, as well as increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion. Sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion intensify the side effects of alcohol, drugs and some prescription medications, he said.
“Because of these factors, we recommend that people completely avoid alcohol whenever they are boating, and we will have zero tolerance for anyone found operating a boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” Hall declared.
According to 2008 Coast Guard statistics, 17 percent of all boating fatalities nationwide were a result of alcohol use.
Last summer, agencies and organizations from 46 states and 5 territories participated in the first Operation Dry Water weekend. Over that three-day period, 2,442 marine law-enforcement officers made contact with 17,454 recreational vessels and issued 5,320 boating-safety warnings, 283 alcohol citations and 1,127 citations for other violations. This included 19 vessel boardings, 3 written warnings and 1 arrest by DEM environmental police officers.
This year, all states, trusts and territories are expected to participate, searching for boat operators whose alcohol- or drug-impairment makes them a danger to other boaters.
Filed Under: Crimes
