The Maryland Natural Resources Police will join this weekend with the Coast Guard and other maritime law enforcement agencies for Operation Dry Water, a nationwide crackdown on alcohol- and drug-impaired boaters.
From Deep Creek Lake and the Potomac River to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, NRP officers take part in saturation patrols beginning Friday, looking for boaters whose blood alcohol content exceeds the state limit of .08.
“Our officers witness on a regular basis how alcohol and drugs can have a profound effect on a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time. Those people endanger themselves and often innocent bystanders,” said Col. George F. Johnson IV, NRP superintendent. “Operation Dry Water makes it clear that Maryland has no tolerance for alcohol- or drug-impaired boaters.”
The maximum penalty for operating a vessel while impaired by alcohol is a $1,000 fine and a year in jail for the first offense.
Last year NRP arrests for operating while impaired spiked to 206 from 124 in 2012. Statistics show alcohol was a factor in 12 percent of the 127 boating accidents recorded in 2013.
In addition to dulling judgment and senses, alcohol also can increase fatigue and vulnerability to cold-water immersion, Johnson noted. Other factors such as sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion intensify the side effects of alcohol and drugs.
“Sadly, one impaired operator’s poor decisions can harm passengers and people in the water and on other boats,” Johnson said.
During their patrols, NRP officers also will be checking vessels to ensure required safety equipment is on board and operators are maintaining a proper lookout.
Operation Dry Water was initiated by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators in 2009. Last year the national enforcement and education effort resulted in officers contacting 144,044 boaters, arresting 290 intoxicated boat operators and issuing tickets or warnings for safety violations to 17,159 individuals.
Over the last five years in Maryland, officers participating in the campaign talked with 9,813 boaters and conducted 4,932 vessel safety checks. They charged 61 people with alcohol and drug violations.
For more on boating safety, visit dnr.state.md.us/boating/safety.
