GAINESVILLE - Governor Nathan Deal Wednesday underlined Georgia's new Boating under the Influence Law at Hall County's Laurel Park boat Ramp on Lake Lanier.
The Governor joined state and local law enforcement officials to re-affirm the commitment to protect citizens from drunk drivers on the waterways and the highways.
"We believe that we have set the standard," the Governor said. "Now it is up to those in law enforcement to help us make sure that standard is complied with. But it is also imperative on the public to embrace that standard, and let it be known that drinking and driving a boat is just as unacceptable as drinking and driving an automobile. That's what this legislation will put in place."
The Laurel Park press conference ended a two day tour of seven popular boating destinations with the slogan, ".08, Where the Rudder Meets the Road". Other stops included Lake Oliver, Lake Walter F. George, Lake Blackshear, Lake Sinclair, and the Ogeechee and Savannah rivers.
Under the new law, becoming effective Wednesday, .08 is the legal blood alcohol limit for motorists and boat handlers. It was already the law on state highways. Deal recalled the tragic deaths of Jake and Griffin Prince from Buford last summer who died because of a B.U.I. collision and he once again expressed condolences to the Prince Family.
"The Jake and Griffin Prince B.U.I. Law will not only carry the name of those two young boys, but it represents many other lives that alcohol related accidents have claimed over the years, and more importantly, it will remind us of the lives that will hopefully be saved," the Governor said.
The new alcohol limit for boaters also increases the penalties for those convicted for boating under the influence. In 2012, five people died or were injured as a result of boaters who had too much to drink before operating a boat in Georgia.
Across the state, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has 200 law enforcement rangers patrolling state waterways. Col. Eddie Henderson, chief of DNR's Law Enforcement Division, said those rangers will be committed to enforcing the new rules and preventing BUI-related tragedies on Lake Lanier.
"We've got 12 officers who are assigned to Lake Lanier and again this year the Gwinnett County Police Department has stepped up and we're going to be conducting the boating safety initiative with them," Henderson said. "They will also be providing officers who will ride with our officers and we have a great working relationship with the Hall County Sheriff's Department and the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department."
Henderson observed that his rangers are ready for a busy season on Lanier, with the lake slightly above 'full pool' this spring. Henderson also reminded boaters that under the new law youngsters under age 13 have to wear a floatation device while an open boat is in motion. He added boat operators age 12 through 15 must have a boating safety and operation course unless they have an adult at least 18 years old with them.
As the new blood alcohol concentration limit for boaters begins to match the limits for Georgia motorists, the Department of Natural Resources is joining other state law enforcement officials in this year's annual summer traffic enforcement campaign, "100 Days of Summer HEAT," a multi-jurisdictional enforcement strategy aimed at reducing fatal accidents during the summer. The campaign lasts from Memorial Day through Labor Day, targeting motorists and boaters under the influence.
"This period has often been called the '100 deadly days of summer' and this program is designed to change that," said Col. Mark McDonough, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. "State troopers and Motor Carrier Compliance Division officers will be fully involved."
For 10 years, state troopers have participated in the campaign. In 2012, it took 5,924 drunk drivers off Georgia roads.
"Over the last 25 years, with the efforts of law enforcement and the work of groups like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), we've made drunk driving an unacceptable practice in this country," said Harris Blackwood, Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. "We must now do the same thing with boating under the influence, because, whether on the road or the water, drunk driving is a problem in Georgia."
Wednesday
October 16th, 2024
7:35PM
