Avoid Boating Under the Influence BUI
Alcohol Use is a Significant Factor in Boating Fatalities
Apr 20, 2009
A quick review of any day’s news reveals a disturbing and widespread boating safety problem, boating while intoxicated:
Conway, South Carolina – Boater faces charges operating under the influence of alcohol after an accident that seriously injured his friend.
Lake Winnepocket, New Hampshire – A man was found dead after the capsize of his canoe. Investigators suspect alcohol played a role in the boating accident.
Palm Valley, Florida – Five people died and nine were injured in a boating accident on the Intercoastal Waterway. Alcohol was found in the boat.
The Effects of Alcohol on Boat Operators
The United States Coast Guard publishes recreational boating safety statistics every year. In the latest edition for the year 2007, the agency notes that alcohol use was the leading contributing factor in boating fatalities, with it being listed as the leading factor in 21% of all deaths. A drunk boat operator is ten times more likely to die than a sober one.
While boating drunk presents many of the same risks as driving a car under the influence, there are many other factors at play:
- Visual acuity – Peripheral, night, and color vision are negatively effected by alcohol use.
- Balance – Alcohol impacts the function of the inner ear and effects balance. This can cause falls overboard and diminish the ability to discern up from down once in the water.
- Hypothermia – Alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate and increases heat loss from the body. The false sense of warmth it creates compounds the risk of hypothermia for boaters.
- Judgment – Cognitive reasoning and decision making are impaired by alcohol use.
- Reaction Time – The ability to react quickly to apparent danger is lowered by alcohol use.
- Boating Fatigue – On the water, wave motion, engine vibration, sunlight, heat and engine noise intensify the effect of alcohol on a boat operator greatly impacting performance and increasing fatigue. The effect is often called boater's hypnosis.
Legal Consequences of Boating Under the Influence (BUI)
Operating a boat with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.08 percent is treated as a serious crime by both federal and state governments. In most states, this violation of the law carries the same potential consequences as a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) convection, with its associated fines and jail time.
The safest approach is to not drink while boating. Safety experts say that there is no safe threshold for alcohol use for boat operators. A person who weighs 160 pounds is near the 0.08% BAC threshold after two drinks and is already impaired as a boat operator.
Alcohol use is one contributing factor seen in boating accidents that is 100% preventable and completely within the control of the boater. Nothing is as enjoyable as a boating trip or as tragic as a needless death on the water.
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