The recent arrests of three people for operating boats while intoxicated has been added to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources? concerns that summer is the worst time for boating accidents.
“It?s almost like when people get on boat they say, ?Let?s make sure we have alcohol,? ” said Sgt. Ken Turner, spokesman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police. “We are aggressively patrolling and looking for that intoxicated boater, because it comes down to public safety.”
The three boaters who failed sobriety tests this past weekend in Anne Arundel County were Joseph Lorentzen, 47, of Crofton; Michael Toft, 46, of Edgewater; and Alexander Griffin, 22, of Riva. Their blood alcohol levels ranged from the state?s legal intoxication level of 0.08 percent to 0.20 percent.
“It doesn?t matter if you?re on a boat or a Jet Ski, [driving under the influence] is a DUI,” said former New Jersey Police Officer Jim Carlin, who is the founder of Boaters Against Drunk Driving, a national network formerly based in Annapolis that promotes boating safety. “There are just as many people drinking and driving on the water as there are on the highway.”
Intoxication can impair a person?s reaction time severely, reducing his or her alertness to wind, wave action and other boaters, he said.
Accidents to date
To date, 62 reportable boating accidents have occurred with 45 injuries and one fatality, said the Maryland Natural Resources Police.
It is unclear how many of those incidents involved alcohol.
Last year, 51 boating accidents took place with five fatalities; five of the accidents involved alcohol, according to the MDNR.
Nationally, between 700 and 800 people die in boating accidents every year, and about 40 percent of those deaths involve alcohol, Carlin said.
Some states have combated those numbers by even taking away driver?s licenses, Carlin said.
Safety courses for boaters
Boater-safety courses aim to cut down on the number of intoxicated boaters and, in Maryland, any skipper born after July 1, 1972, is required to pass an eight-hour boater-safety course, which covers the dangers of drinking while operating a boat, according to the Maryland boater-education law.
Maryland does not require a boater?s license, because unlike driving, it?s considered a right, not a privilege, to operate a vessel on the water, Turner said.
“We recommend everybody take the safety course,” he said. “You?re never too old to learn something.”
AT A GLANCE
» A first offense for operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol carries a maximumpenalty of a $1,000 fine and/or one year in jail.
» For the lesser offense of operating while impaired, the maximum penalty is a $500 fine and/or two months in jail.
Source: Maryland Natural Resources Police
