When out boating how often do you feel people are reckless or even drunk while operating their boat?

I have no idea as to statistics, although they must exist somewhere.

I can tell you at Lake Lanier (large reservoir north of Atlanta) there have been several deaths and injuries recently because of BWI (Boating While Intoxicated).

@elbanditoroso Have you ever heard of anyone getting a ticket there to try to prevent these things from happening?

Yes. Both Gwinnett County (which is on the south and east part of the lake) and Hall County have lake patrols. And yes, people do get ticketed.

That said, it’s a big lake https://maps.google.com/maps?safe=off&q=lake+lanier,+ga&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x88f5f4ec842f82b3:0x958b7230845daef8,Lake+Sidney+Lanier&gl=us&ei=l67eUavrFKnkyQHk7oH4BA&ved=0CNYBELYD

and on a summer weekend, there are a LOT of boats out there, and a lot of drunken boaters.

Interesting. I’ve been to Lake Lanier :). We go racing up at Road Atlanta.

@JLeslie – coincidence- thats about 10 minutes from where I live.

In Missouri we have tons of great rivers and lakes, and I’ve been scared so many times that I actually make sure the driver is sober before I’ll get on a boat. Underwater trees and fisherman with small lights are a hazard. Speeding boats drunk at night and day is what I see quite often, it’s very scary. It’s so normal here, and we have so many deaths, that PSA’s are ran on tv quite often.

There is a part-time sheriff’s deputy who patrols Lake Placid at random and does hand out tickets when he catches boat drivers red-handed.

People who live on the lake often call him to report speeders, guys fishing at the wrong time and other clear malfeasants.

There is also an ongoing similar issue with jet ski drivers. They are not licensed or trained and can rent the skies and head off into the wild blue yonder with no knowledge of the maritlime rules of the road.

I used to go up to the Sacramento Delta a lot to go water skiing with friends. Hot weather, no shade, out on a ski boat all day with two or three ice chests full of beer, we drank all day long.

And we pretty much assumed anyone driving a boat after noon was impaired.

We’d pull up at some islands where the boats were tied together and one huge party was going on, and everyone smashed. I always wondered how deaths were avoided.

Drunk or high boating is very common in Alaska. A year or two ago I believe it was 3 million allotted to the police force to monitor and make arrests for DUI’s.

They made it a law never to have an open container on the boat and applied the .08 legal limit though impaired driving is also illegal and they have the backing to arrest you even if you are below the limit.

Also it became illegal to not have a life vest for every member on the boat. Though you don’t have to wear it.

They also have arrested people in inflatable tubes on the river for being intoxicated etc.

It made me very angry. Even as a non drinker. Yes there are on occasion accidents. But those are fairly rare and our police force has become a large presence here.

It is almost to the point of regime. They have publicly stated that they their strategy to minimize crime is to be very visible. They have qoutas, they can stop you for ambigous things like distracted driving though there is no legal definition for it. The policeman have this spiel where they act like they are doing you a favor for stopping you. What they are really doing is building the coffers on the backs of the people.

But should you call the police you still have to wait for an hour to get there. For real crimes they ask help for the citizens to solve it. My 16 year old neice died of an oxycotin overdose. Her mom did the research collected the names and put together a time line that broke that case.

Another story about a drug house where a near by homeowner would watch and detail times license plate numbers and descriptions. Handing everything in to the police before they did anything about it.

The list goes on. The police have become enforcers. Accidents can’t happen without everyone paying. And the real criminals usually get away.

I don’t recall ever driving the ski boat without a few beers. Boating and beer just go together. I sold my boat when the park rangers started ticketing people for having beer in the boat.

I’m against drunk driving a car but see absolutely noting wrong with zooming around a big lake with a few beers under your belt. Hell there’s nothing to hit out there!

@Ron_C You sound like the folks in my area, but trust me, I almost died from one experience. If it’s just you out there, no worries, but if there’s others, you risk their lives as well as your own, so that’s not cool.

@KNOWITALL we never drank enough to impair our ability to run the boat. We never drank in the docking area and never enough that we couldn’t control the boat or passengers. I have many hours steering a small freighter so a 19” power boat was a piece of cake. The worst thing that ever happened was when the motor quit in the middle of the lake. We rigged a sail from the boat cover and slowly, and embarrassingly, drifted to our dock.

@Unbroken I completely agree that the “law enforcement” is a money grab. It works the same way on the highway. Why would a police cruiser hide when its mere presence would warn drivers to slow down.

I think the only real traffic rules that should be enforced is obstructing traffic and reckless driving. Everything else is for police profit.

@Ron_C It is a little off topic. Though there seems to be an overwhelming unquestioned movement that we can prevent all accidents deaths and tragedies. The government seems adept at preying on these fears to regulate and fine us.

It is a misappropriation of funds and authority. I have heard of almost as many “sober” boating accidents and the results of which equally as horrifying. I don’t have an actual number or percentage but I would be interested in seeing one. Even if my premise was wrong.

So now even the “responsible” boating members must make room accommodate and make room for the police presence, being questioned, inspected and occasionally boarded while trying in a recreational mindset. Also everyone as taxpayers have to fund it!

Not the most popular opinion. So thanks for the agreement.

@Unbroken yeah, I tend to go off topic when the subject of police powers get mentioned. You should hear my thoughts about the militarization of police forces.

There is something about boating on a hot sunny day that calls for a cold beer to make it perfect.

It isn’t just drunk boating, reckless boating in general whether intoxicated or not is scary. I would be happy to see patrol hand out tickets for going at top speeds in crowded areas and coming so close to other boats it’s dangerous.

@Ron_C If you are alone on your boat and want to take risk, if there is any, go right ahead, but if there are other people I really don’t trust a person who had a few beers to judge whether they are ok to “drive” or not. If everyone is on a very slow moving pontoon then maybe not much to worry about, but it still makes me uncomfortable.

@JLeslie you are correct about not wanting to ride with a reckless driver. Some of the most reckless people I’ve seen were completely sober. I drank beer but never violated a “no wake” area or sped when there were too many boats around.

The good thing about the East Branch Dam (my favorite place) is that it is a large area and seldom crowed.