If you spend a day out on the water, it doesn’t take long to notice that a lot of people like to drink while boating. You’ll see people pulling beers out of the cooler on the deck and even driving with a drink in their hand.
This is curious, as the legal limit for boating is the same BAC of 0.08% that applies to drivers. Drunk driving does not just happen on the roads. When it happens on the water, it can lead to serious accidents, and it is just as illegal.
Though drinking and driving is clearly a problem, people often aren’t as obvious about it. You don’t often see people just accepting it as normal or driving with a drink in hand. Why is the attitude different on the water?
Boats become social centers
The difference is often that people just think of boats differently. In a car, you’re just using it to get from one location to another. Most DUI accidents happen after someone leaves a drinking establishment or a location where alcohol is being consumed and then tries to drive to another location — or simply to their house.
With a boat, the goal is to spend the day on the water with friends and family. You don’t take your pontoon boat out with the intention of getting anywhere. The boat is the activity. Drinking is part of this, and it leads people to accept it as more normal and reasonable — even though it is both dangerous and illegal. If one of these boaters injures you, then you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries and losses.