Boaters appear to be abiding by the BUI laws and alcohol-related boating accidents have dropped according to this article from TimesLeader.com
Twenty-five years after a rash of alcohol-related fatal boating accidents and two years since boating under the influence laws were toughened, the waters of Harveys Lake are calmer.
Bill Hilburt, who is retired, spends most every summer day on his pontoon boat on Harveys Lake. A few hours of boating dehydrates you, says Hilburt, and drinking alcohol only adds to that feeling.
“Once in a while you’ll find someone who is reckless, but for the most part, the boaters are well-behaved. That’s not to say that there isn’t some partying going on some of the boats,” said Dick Squitieri, who lives at the lake and is an active U.S. Coast Guard boating instructor.
But, just as drinking and driving don’t mix, neither do drinking and boating.
Coast Guard data show alcohol as a contributing factor in 11 boating deaths in Pennsylvania in 2006. And while the number of fatalities declined the next two years, the number of boating accidents involving alcohol rose.
According to the state Fish and Boat Commission, the number of boating under the influence arrests in Pennsylvania slipped to 83 in 2008 from 87 in 2007. But that number is up sharply since 2001, when there were 54 BUI arrests.
Jeff Bridi, assistant director of the commission’s Bureau of Law Enforcement, said the fact that the number of BUIs on Pennsylvania’s waterways has been steady the past few years doesn’t mean the problem isn’t serious.
“The consistent message is boating is fun, but we do not encourage people to go out and drink and boat,” Bridi said.
Bridi said water conservation officers patrol waterways on a daily basis, checking for boating licenses, registrations and other common violations.
They also look for intoxicated boaters.
“When (officers) make contact with boaters, they are looking for life jackets, etc.,” Bridi said. “While they are engaged in conversation, they look for cues of impairment, just like any law enforcement officer.”
Waterways conservation officer John Cummings routinely looks for reckless conduct on bodies of water such as Harveys Lake.
Drunken boating is not as frequent locally as in other areas in the northeast region, he said.
“I’m not saying it doesn’t occur, but we haven’t prosecuted anyone for (BUI) in the last couple of years,” said Cummings, who is responsible for an area that is about half of Luzerne County.
He said he has noticed a sharp decline in boat usage on the lake, which he thinks also means fewer violations.
Another reason BUI isn’t as frequent on Harveys Lake is because people are aware officers are actively looking for intoxicated boaters, Cummings said. Also, the lake is surrounded by private property, unlike other areas such as Lake Wallenpaupack, where boozing and boating is more prevalent, he said.
That gives Harveys Lake boaters the option of partying later on land when they are finished for the day, Cummings said.
It’s not only the waterways that officers have to think about. Intoxicated boaters might get behind the wheel after they put their craft back on a trailer. A DUI/BUI Task Force created in 2004 by the state so the commission and police could work together is no longer funded, but the commission coordinates with police departments on their own accord.
“We work with local and state police from time to time,” Bridi said. “We make arrangements for additional patrols in highways and access points.”
The legal limit for operating a watercraft in Pennsylvania is the same as for driving a motor vehicle, .08 percent blood-alcohol concentration, a limit that was dropped from .10 for boaters two years ago.
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