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Colorado Department of Natural Resources
06/19/2012 | Press release
Colorado Marine Law Enforcement Officers Gear Up For 2012 Operation Dry Water
distributed by noodls on 06/19/2012 17:47
6/19/2012
Colorado State Parks
Colorado Marine Law Enforcement Officers Gear Up For 2012 Operation Dry Water
Officers will be out in force Friday, June 22 through Sunday,
June 24 looking for boaters whose blood alcohol content
exceeds the state limit of .08.
DENVER - Recreational boating fatalities last year jumped to
their highest levels since 1998 and boating under the
influence (BUI) was the leading contributing factor,
according to the U.S. Coast Guard's report, 2011 Recreational
Boating Statistics. The report comes just weeks before
Colorado marine law enforcement officers participate in the
Operation Dry Water 2012, an annual nationwide campaign
focused on enforcement of BUI laws and educating all boaters
to the risks of operating a boat under the influence of
alcohol and/or drugs. Officers will be out in force Friday,
June 22 through Sunday, June 24 looking for boaters whose
blood alcohol content exceeds the state limit of .08.
Operation Dry Water will include increased and focused
patrols, checkpoints, as well as boater education. Impaired
boaters can expect penalties to be severe. In Colorado, the
consequences for BUI include fines, jail time, court-ordered
volunteer service, impoundment of the boat, mandatory boating
safety education and even loss of boating privileges.
"We intend to arrest intoxicated boaters and to reach out to
as many people as possible about the hazards of boating under
the influence," says Kris Wahlers, Colorado's spokesman for
the event.
BUI continues to be a major problem in the United States.
Boat operators or even passengers with a blood alcohol
concentration above the legal limit run a significantly
increased risk of being involved in a fatal boating accident.
Alcohol was a contributing factor in just 6 percent of
boating accidents overall, but figured in 16 percent of
boating fatalities in the United States last year. When
impaired by alcohol, boating accidents are more probable and
more deadly for both passengers and boat operators, many of
whom capsize their vessel or simply fall overboard.
Operation Dry Water, a multi-agency education and enforcement
initiative launched by the National Association of Safe
Boating Law Administrators in 2009 in partnership with the
U.S. Coast Guard, puts thousands of local, state and federal
marine law enforcement officers on the water nationwide prior
to the Fourth of July holiday to give BUI enforcement high
visibility during the peak boating season.
"There will be arrests this weekend, and some boaters
will face the consequences of boating under the
influence," says Wahlers. "Boating is a safe and
enjoyable pastime when people stay alert and follow the
rules. We want boaters to understand the added risks
associated with BUI and to avoid drinking and
boating."
Operation Dry Water 2012 is a joint program of Colorado Parks
and Wildlife, the National Association of State Boating Law
Administrators, and the U.S. Coast Guard. For more
information, visit www.operationdrywater.org.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife was created by the merger of
Colorado State Parks and the Colorado Division of Wildlife,
two nationally recognized leaders in conservation, outdoor
recreation and wildlife management. Colorado Parks and
Wildlife manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's
wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of
recreational programs. To learn more about Colorado's
state parks, please see: http://parks.state.co.us. To
learn more about Colorado's wildlife programs, please
see: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
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