According to The Charlotte Observer, the State Highway Patrol and Wildlife Resources Commission have announced their most recent crackdown on DWI and BWI (boating while impaired). The appropriately-named campaign is called “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink & Drive.”
As a note, the legal limit blood-alcohol content for boating in the State of North Carolina is 0.08 – the same as with driving a car. However, boaters, skiers and surfers – unlike drivers – are not deemed to consent to testing to a chemical analysis if charged with impaired operation (called “implied consent”) and that a refusal to be tested does not give rise to a civil driver’s license revocation.
The goal of this particular campaign is to patrol Lake Norman for drunken boaters and to set up DWI checkpoints on roads near boat launching areas. The reasoning is that, even if you’re out on the lake drinking but not piloting the boat, chances are that you’ll be getting in a car with a driver who has been drinking once you get back on dry land.
The campaign kicked off Memorial Day weekend and will resume on Independence Day and Labor Day weekends.
Be cautious with your intake of alcohol as you celebrate these fun summer holidays. If you don’t feel safe to drive or think your driver has had too much to drink, find another way home.