8 arrested for drunken boating in crackdown
Eight boaters were arrested for operating a vessel under the influence by Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers and local law-enforcement partners who were prowling the water everywhere from the Hocking and Mohican rivers to Buckeye Lake and Lake Erie the weekend before July Fourth.
About 3,500 people on 1,261 vessels were hailed to discuss various violations of state watercraft and local laws, spokesman Eric Heis said Wednesday.
Officers arrested eight operators for boating under the influence. Like car drivers, boat drivers are considered impaired with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher and the offense is the same first-degree misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of six months in jail.
Officers also issued 102 citations, which generally are minor misdemeanors, and 895 warnings.
The increased patrols were part of “Operation Dry Water,” an annual nationwide initiative intended to remove impaired boaters from public waterways and discourage alcohol use while boating. Drinking alcohol while boating is the leading factor in boater deaths nationwide.
Alcohol use can impair boaters’ judgment, balance, vision and reaction time, and it also increases fatigue. Intoxicated passengers can slip, fall overboard and suffer other lifethreatening injuries.
“It is not legal to drink while operating a vehicle on the water,” including motorboats, canoes and kayaks, Heis said. Also, “ODNR does not recommend passengers drink on the boat, either, for their safety,” he said.
Natural Resources officers and local marine patrols always are looking for impaired boat operators. The Operation Dry Water effort is intended to heighten awareness that boat operators and their passengers should behave smartly, soberly and safely on the water, Heis said.
The department recorded three boatingrelated fatalities around the July Fourth holiday.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected in the deaths of a couple from Stoutsville, in Fairfield County, and their dog. They were found dead July 1 on their boat docked at a marina near Marblehead in Ottawa County.
That same day, two personal watercraft collided at a Lake Erie marina, killing one of the operators.
A powerboat with three people aboard hit a steel breakwall on Lake Erie at high speed after the Lorain fireworks at 10:50 p.m. on Independence Day. A man and woman died, and a 10-year-old boy was treated for minor injuries.