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State Police to crack down on drunken boating
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They're calling it "Operation Dry Water" but this weekend's enforcement exercise on the water from Sandy Hook to Cape May Point and into the Delaware Bay is not to combat mariners getting wet.
The word "dry" refers to alcohol.
Operation Dry Water, which begins today and runs through Sunday, is a joint effort between the U.S. Coast Guard and the State Police to cut down on BUIs, or boating under the influence. The operation will take place in state waters, including the bays and ocean, out to 3 miles.
"It's an enforcement effort looking at boaters who are intoxicated. There will be checkpoints. Busy areas will be the Atlantic City and Cape May areas," Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris McLaughlin said.
Besides checkpoints, officers will be looking for those navigating recklessly or carelessly. There could be boardings for those suspected of being over the legal blood alcohol content of .08 percent for boating, the same threshold for those driving an automobile.
Penalties vary by state. In New Jersey, boaters can lose their boating privileges for one year and their driver's license as well - three months for a blood alcohol level of .08 or .09 and seven months for 0.1 or greater. New Jersey does not confiscate boats, but other states do.
Authorities also will administer field sobriety tests, although they can be somewhat different from those conducted on dry land.
"You don't have a straight line you can make them walk, but there are other tests that can be done," State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Torchio said.
Authorities do not want to give away too much information about the tactics they will employ, but they are getting the word out about the effort. The goal is not to arrest boaters so much as to educate them about the problem. In 2007, the last year for which statistics are available, 21 percent of recreational boating deaths involved alcohol.
The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, or NASBLA, was set up to address such problems. Each state is represented by one administrator - New Jersey's is State Police Capt. Chris Simmerman - and the administrators developed strategies such as those employed in Operation Dry Water to cut down on alcohol-related accidents. This weekend will mark the first time New Jersey has participated, but the BUI effort will be going on in 49 states simultaneously.
"We haven't done it before," said State Police Sgt. Karl Brobst, of the Marine Services Unit. "We'll go out with enhanced patrols to try and discourage it. The enhanced high-visibility patrols are in areas heavily trafficked by recreational boaters. The goal is to deter and arrest violators we encounter. The primary focus is education."
Alcohol-related boating accidents are already declining, from 704 nationally in 1998 to 421 in 2007. New Jersey is doing better than many other states in reducing boating while intoxicated. Brobst said 147 accidents on the water last year were investigated in New Jersey, and only eight have involved alcohol consumption. He noted, however, that several of the investigations are incomplete.
One message authorities are pushing is that alcohol has an enhanced effect on the water. Brobst said the glaring sun, waves, motion of the boat and other influences help the body absorb alcohol faster. It can impair motor functions, reaction time, judgment and other boating skills.
"It unfortunately has very dire consequences from time to time," Brobst said.
The crackdown is on a wide range of vessels, from personalized watercraft to the largest yachts.
E-mail Richard Degener:
Posted in Cape_may on Friday, June 26, 2009 3:10 am
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