The Oklahoma Senate Appropriations Committee has approved legislation that would lower the legal blood alcohol concentration limit for the offense of boating under the influence from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent.
Senate Bill 902 by Sen. Bill Brown would also prevent children under the age of 12 from operating any personal watercraft powered by a motor or sail-powered vessel longer than 16 feet in length. Brown said it is necessary to add teeth to the state’s boating laws to reduce watercraft-related accidents and deaths.
“Our laws regarding blood alcohol limits for operating watercraft ought to be consistent with our laws for operating motor vehicles,” said Brown, R-Broken Arrow. “Operating a watercraft under the influence is every bit as dangerous as a car or truck. It’s clear that we need to add some teeth to the law in order to make our waterways safer.”
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents, accounting for nearly twenty percent of all reported fatalities. In 2006, Oklahoma per capita had more watercraft-related accidents, fatal accidents and fatalities stemming from alcohol use than over half of other states.
Source: Oklahoma Senate
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