WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard is partnering with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators to enforce a boating safety operation throughout the nation, June 26-28 with the goal of fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol use on the water, it reported in a statement yesterday.
Operation Dry Water will focus on areas of recreational boating and increase patrols in 49 states and U.S. territories searching for boaters under the influence, the Coast Guard reported. Officers will conduct boating under the influence checkpoints and search for boat operators whose blood alcohol level exceeds the national limit of 0.08 percent. If an operator is determined to be boating under the influence, the Coast Guard said it will take the person into custody and turn them over to the appropriate state authorities for further prosecution.
Coast Guard statistics reveal that in 2007, 21 percent of deaths from recreational boating accidents involved the use of alcohol, it added.
Additional information can be accessed at www.operationdrywater.org and www.uscgboating.org. You can also follow Operation Dry Water on Twitter at http://twitter.com/opdrywater and facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Operation-Dry-Water/93051813096?ref=ts.
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