Boating/Drinking

[Bliss]

FYI. In today's Chicago Tribune reporter Lisa Black wrote about a boating accident in which a small boy was killed. Reckless homicide and aggrevated bui charges were brought against the boat operator.
In the article Ms Black reports in IL you can operate a boat while imbibing, however, you cannot operate the boat if blood alcohol exceeds .08.
According to the article, the USCG reported that in 2011 Wisconsin lead the country in alcohol related boating accidents that caused a death. Number two on the list -Illinois.

Be careful out there!

 

[HOGAN]

I think that is probably true anywhere.

There is no law that says you can't drive/operate a boat after a drink or two. Laws prohibit drinking and driving when you are impaired or when your BAC exceeds a certain limit.

 

[freckles]

In Michigan we can not be impaired while driving (legally). We can, however have open intoxicants. The driver can have an open intoxicant (as long as he/she is not legally impaired). So... putting this all together, I can be driving along, get pulled over, talk to the LEO, jump through the hoops, open a beer/mix a cocktail, take a drink or two and be on my merry way as long as I'm not legally impaired.

I believe the BAC level just changed from .10 to .08 to be consistent with automobile drivers.

 

[Golfman25]

I live close to where this happened, only a few min. from the river which leads into the lakes in question. I liken boating in that are to boating on an expressway. It is just to crazy and dangerous, especially on weekends. When I bought my first small boat and told my insurance agent (who is also a boater) where I intended to use it, he told me I would "get killed" if I regularly boated in that area. I have since move up in size -- both the boat and to Lake Michigan.

You mix too many boats, inexperienced owners, a party atmosphere, and some drugs/booze and you have a recepie for trouble.

 

[Ghost]

First off, I never drink while operating the vessel. I do drink when tucked away somewhere for the evening, so long as the weather is not expected to blow up at night.

The problem is that my boat is akin to my house. I have a liquor cabinet, I don't drink the entire store at once. I'm always going to have open containers. Always. Most of the time, I'm not drinking. Just as I have open containers in my house, while I'm also not drinking there.

I think your trying to use an automobile experience to describe something entirely different. I'm not in favor of open container laws for boats for this reason. You could try to pick a boat size but then I've had the same parallel in boats int the 20 foot range, so I don't think it works on anything that is capable of sleeping on which is most boats.

As already noted, a boater who is under the influence can be charged. I think that's enough.