RALEIGH, N.C. (June 29, 2010) – “Boat Safe, Boat Sober” is a timely message for this July 4 holiday weekend, expected to be a busy time on waterways. Operating a recreational vessel while under the influence of an impairing substance or with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher is illegal. The maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine and possible jail.
“Consider ‘Boat Safe, Boat Sober’ as the same sort of message that ‘Booze It and Lose It’ is for highways,” said Capt. Chris Huebner, the state boating safety coordinator with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. “Last year, 29 percent of fatal boating accidents in North Carolina were alcohol related.”
Operation Dry Water, a national campaign to combat intoxicated and dangerous boaters, indicates impaired operators are a leading threat to public safety in North Carolina. During last weekend’s Operation Dry Water campaign, wildlife officers made 32 operating-while-impaired arrests.
“That number is down from 44 OWI arrests last year, which is good,” Capt. Huebner said. “Law enforcement was just as diligent but people are getting the message and doing the right thing.”
In addition to “Boat Safe, Boat Sober,” wildlife officers remind boaters over the Independence Day holiday:
For more information on safe recreational boating or to enroll in a free boating education course by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, click here or call (919) 707-0031.