State Wildlife & Fisheries agents cited a dozen people for operating a boat while impaired over the July 4th Weekend. LDWF spokesman Adam Einck says that is a big number, and concerning; especially when considering that one person arrested allegedly caused the death of a teenage girl Monday. Einck says too few people understand that DWI laws apply to operating ANY vehicle.
“You get a DWI on the water, you will lose your driving privileges on the road, and vice versa. You get a DWI on the ROAD, you could lose your boating privileges,” Einck says.
Einck says Wildlife agents are always out in force over busy summer weekends; seeking those who are impaired or just unsafely operating their boat.
“We did partake in a national campaign, called Operation Dry Water…and that’s basically a heightened awareness of DWI patrols on the waterways.”
He says agents are trained to spot things like unsafe piloting, overloaded vessels and more. He says agents will often order boaters to heave-to for inspection, which led to many of last weekend’s arrests.
“They can do random safe boating checks on boaters, and make sure they have enough life jackets…and part of that check is making sure the operator is not impaired.”
Einck hopes boaters will get the message and always designate a sober pilot, when on the water.
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