Nevada agencies step up water patrol this weekend looking for boaters under the influence
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 06/25/2014 - 8:04am
Boaters taking to Nevada waters this weekend should take note: operating a boat under the influence is the same as driving under the influence. Nevada Department of Wildlife wardens and law enforcement will be looking for boaters operating under the influence this weekend in waters across the state as part of a nationally coordinated enforcement effort dubbed “Operation Dry Water.”
Operation Dry Water is an effort to coordinate increased patrols targeting drunken boaters. Events will take place at waterways across the state, but extra efforts are being made at Lake Tahoe in Northern Nevada and in Southern Nevada on lakes along the Colorado River System.
"We’ve put together a truly regional effort this year," said Capt. David Pfiffner, Nevada’s boating law administrator. “We say it many times, drunken boating is dangerous. People who operate under the influence are just as likely to kill an innocent bystander as him or herself, so stay sober while on the water.”
As part of the effort, NDOW will be moving extra officers from other parts of the state to focus on busy recreational waters, such as Lakes Mead and Mohave. With low water in Northern Nevada, game wardens will focus specifically on Lake Tahoe.
“As recreational activity on Lake Tahoe increases, so must our efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence,” Washoe County Undersheriff Tim Kuzanek said. “Participating in Operation Dry Water allows us to become part of an enormous multi-agency effort to make the waters safer for everyone who wants to enjoy this beautiful gem of the Sierra.”
Alcohol can impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision, and reaction time. It can increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion. Sun, wind, noise, vibration, and motion, “stressors” common to the boating environment, intensify the side effects of alcohol, drugs, and some prescription medications, according to Pfiffner. United States Coast Guard statistics from 2008 reveal that 17 percent of all boat accident fatalities were a direct result of alcohol or drug use.
“Drunk boating is drunk driving,” said Adam Kelsey, acting chief ranger, Lake Mead National Recreation Area. “We want visitors to have a fun, safe time on the lakes, but they need to be cognizant of the fact that summer heat can affect an individual’s response to alcohol, putting them over the legal limit much more quickly. Through Operation Dry Water, park rangers and our partners will be enforcing boating under the influence laws.”
Operation Dry Water, launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) in partnership with the United States Coast Guard, has been a highly successful effort to draw public attention to the hazards of OUI. Operation Dry Water is a joint program of NDOW, NASBLA and the U.S. Coast Guard. More information is available here.
- alcohol
- accident
- Acting
- activity
- Awareness
- Balance
- Beautiful
- boaters
- boating
- Coast Guard
- county
- Department of Wildlife
- Draw
- Driving
- drug
- environment
- events
- fatalities
- fun
- hazards
- information
- Lake
- Legal
- need
- Nevada
- Nevada Department of Wildlife
- News
- Northern Nevada
- officers
- program
- Program:
- public
- Ranger
- recreation
- regional
- Safe
- Sierra
- state
- summer
- sun
- tahoe
- U
- United States
- Washoe
- water
- Weekend
- wind
- drugs
- Lake Tahoe
- law enforcement
- wildlife
