DENVER –
Recreational boating fatalities last year jumped to their highest levels since
1998 and boating under the influence (BUI) was the leading contributing factor,
according to the U.S. Coast Guard’s report, 2011 Recreational Boating
Statistics. The report comes just weeks before Colorado marine law enforcement
officers participate in the Operation Dry Water 2012, an annual nationwide
campaign focused on enforcement of BUI laws and educating all boaters to the
risks of operating a boat under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Officers
will be out in force Friday, June 22 through Sunday, June 24 looking for boaters
whose blood alcohol content exceeds the state limit of .08. Operation Dry Water
will include increased and focused patrols, checkpoints, as well as boater
education. Impaired boaters can expect penalties to be severe. In Colorado, the
consequences for BUI include fines, jail time, court-ordered volunteer service,
impoundment of the boat, mandatory boating safety education and even loss of
boating privileges.
“We intend to
arrest intoxicated boaters and to reach out to as many people as possible about
the hazards of boating under the influence,” says Kris Wahlers, Colorado’s
spokesman for the event.
BUI continues
to be a major problem in the United States. Boat operators or even passengers
with a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit run a significantly
increased risk of being involved in a fatal boating accident. Alcohol was a
contributing factor in just 6 percent of boating accidents overall, but figured
in 16 percent of boating fatalities in the United States last year. When
impaired by alcohol, boating accidents are more probable and more deadly for
both passengers and boat operators, many of whom capsize their vessel or simply
fall overboard.
Operation Dry
Water, a multi-agency education and enforcement initiative launched by the
National Association of Safe Boating Law Administrators in 2009 in partnership
with the U.S. Coast Guard, puts thousands of local, state and federal marine law
enforcement officers on the water nationwide prior to the Fourth of July holiday
to give BUI enforcement high visibility during the peak boating season.
"There will be
arrests this weekend, and some boaters will face the consequences of boating
under the influence," says Wahlers. "Boating is a safe and enjoyable pastime
when people stay alert and follow the rules. We want boaters to understand the
added risks associated with BUI and to avoid drinking and boating.”
Operation Dry
Water 2012 is a joint program of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the National
Association of State Boating Law Administrators, and the U.S. Coast Guard. For
more information, visit www.operationdrywater.org.
Colorado Parks
and Wildlife was created by the merger of Colorado State Parks and the Colorado
Division of Wildlife, two nationally recognized leaders in conservation, outdoor
recreation and wildlife management. Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages 42 state
parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host
of recreational programs. To learn more about Colorado's state parks, please
see: http://parks.state.co.us. To learn
more about Colorado's wildlife programs, please see: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
