W.Va. DNR to Crack Down on Drunken Boaters

Associated Press
3 June 2010

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Conservation officers will be stepping up patrols on West Virginia waterways this summer in an effort to catch drunken boaters.

Lt. Tim Coleman with the state Division of Natural Resources says areas targeted for increased enforcement include Summersville Lake, the Ohio River in Parkersburg, Wheeling and Huntington and the Kanawha River through Charleston.

Coleman says Summersville Lake is the biggest problem area.

"I don't know if you can call them checkpoints, but we are going to get more strict," said Coleman, who is the DNR's boating education coordinator. "We can't just put a rope across the river and stop everybody, but we are going to have targeted enforcement areas.

"And there are going to be a lot more eyes on the water."

Over the past three years, only seven people have been cited for operating a boat while intoxicated. A blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher is illegal. The limit is the same for driving a motor vehicle.

To prepare for this year's season, the DNR put its 112 conservation officers through training in April on how to spot boaters who've been drinking.

Coleman said officers already are on track to issue more BUI citations this year than usual. They've already written three so far in 2010.

"It's OK to have a case of beer on the side of a boat, but the operator is the one who can't be drinking," Coleman said.

Officers also have to look for other signs that the safety of people on board has been compromised.

"If a boat is real low in the water, that's an indication it's overloaded," Coleman said. "If there are a bunch of people on a boat, that's an indication there might not be enough life vests."