With the weather warming and Georgia’s lakes beginning to rise, many of us get the itch to roll back the tarp covering our boat and prepare for a day on the water.
Unfortunately, there are many who will overlook checking the batteries for proper charges or flushing the motor with fresh water. They are too preoccupied with packing their coolers with their favorite alcoholic beverages.
Boating under the influence (BUI) is a big deal in Georgia despite what many will have you to believe. In 2009, three people died in Georgia and others were injured in a dozen accidents in which alcohol was involved.
Someone operating a boat with a blood alcohol content of more than 0.10 percent is 10 times more likely to die in a boating accident than someone driving a boat while sober.
Couple that with the fact that BUI was the leading factor in 16 percent of fatal boating accidents in 2009, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, and you quickly understand that an overindulgence of alcohol by anyone has no place on public waterways.
Forty-two states have a 0.08 percent blood alcohol limit for citing an individual with boating under the influence. Sadly, Georgia is not one of them.
Every neighboring state that shares reciprocal public waters with Georgia already has a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol limit, yet we lag behind this important public safety curve.
Luckily for Georgia, a grassroots group has teamed up with state Rep. Kevin Cooke, R-Carrollton, to rectify this issue with House Bill 315. This bill would establish a blood-alcohol limit for boating that is consistent with the limit for driving a vehicle in Georgia. This blood-alcohol level is now 0.08 percent for driving and 0.10 percent for boating.
With the passage of HB 315, boating while intoxicated would be at the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level, aligning our drunk driving laws for both roadways and waterways.
Updating these statutes to mirror the driving laws will promote a safer Georgia for our residents and visitors, and simplify public education efforts with respect to the dangers of drinking alcohol while boating.
Recent studies in laboratories of roadway driving show even experienced drinkers are significantly impaired at 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level with regard to critical driving tasks such as braking, steering, lane changing, judgment, complex reaction time and divided attention.
The studies indicate the majority of drivers were impaired at 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level in any one given measure, regardless of age, gender or driving experience.
The marine environment amplifies these impairments because drivers are subject to even more distractions, making boating and excessive alcohol intake even more risky.
We need to pass this common-sense legislation. Together, we can make our outdoors a safer and more enjoyable place for everyone.
Andy M. Johnson is M.I.S. director for Wayne Davis Concrete Co. in Tallapoosa.
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