Date: Monday, Sept. 20, 1999 |
For Immediate Release |
There is no evidence to suggest that boaters are consuming more alcohol than they used to, but the end-of-summer tally at the Oregon State Marine Board shows that alcohol-impaired boaters are getting arrested in record numbers. The last "saturation patrol" of the season, held at Detroit Lake on Labor Day weekend, arrested 10 boaters for 'Boating Under the Influence' (BUI), bringing Oregon's BUI arrests to a record 249.
In 1998, marine patrol officers arrested 121 boaters for BUI. The reason for the marked increase, says the Marine Board, is that officer training continues to improve and more and more county sheriff departments and the Oregon State Police (OSP) are making BUI enforcement a priority. The Marine Board contracts with county sheriffs and OSP to provide marine law enforcement services.
"We've spent a lot of time and money in the last decade educating boaters about drinking and boating," says Pat Rowland, Law Enforcement Training Coordinator for the Oregon State Marine Board. "While we will continue our education efforts, we continue to step up enforcement of Oregon's BUI laws. We taught a hard lesson to 249 boaters this summer."
It's not illegal in Oregon to have an open container of alcohol in a boat, but it is illegal to operate a boat while intoxicated. That counts whether your piloting a 40 foot cruiser, a 16 foot fishing boat, or a 12 foot kayak. "Alcohol plays a role in about 50 percent of the boating fatalities nationwide, and Oregon is on track with that," says Rowland. "If you drink and boat, you are endangering yourself, your passengers and other people on the lake. That's why we concentrate on training officers to recognize alcohol and drug impaired boaters, and that's why we arrest these impaired boaters. It's no more appropriate to operate a boat intoxicated than it is a car."
Marine patrols and the Marine Board will meet in October to review this summer's efforts and consider improvements in 2000. "We'll meet again in March to plan enforcement activities in 2000," said Rowland. "In 2000, we will continue saturation patrols, hitting some of this summer's targets as well as choosing some new ones."
Saturation patrols provide several benefits, says Rowland. "First, they help us catch operational, equipment and BUI violations across an entire waterbody in one intensive effort. Second, they help us evaluate a waterbody to see what kinds of problems we may have out there with different user groups. We can look at those problems as an indicator to measure if county marine patrols have enough resources, training and equipment to effectively enforce boating laws. Saturation patrols are also excellent 'on the job training' for marine deputies. Deputies learn special skills in Marine Safety and Law Enforcement training classes each spring and summer. During a saturation patrol, they have the chance to practice those skills in an intensive two or three day effort."
Though the summer boating season is coming to an end, marine patrols across the state will continue their patrols into the fall as anglers and hunters take to the waterways.
Saturation Patrol Results for 1999 (does not include general enforcement efforts)
