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Boating and Alcohol - A Deadly Combination
May 24, 2013 | Category: Boating Accidents | Share
Since Friday, May 24 is the start of the Memorial Day weekend (the unofficial start of summer) and Saturday, May 25 is the beginning of the 2013 National Safe Boating Week, Fort Myers Safe Boating Attorney, Randall Spivey, Spivey Law Firm Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. would like to remind boaters of Florida's BUI - Boating Under the Influence laws:
- It is a violation of Florida law to operate a vessel while impaired by alcohol or other drugs. A vessel operator suspected of boating under the influence must submit to sobriety tests and a physical or chemical test to determine blood- or breath-alcohol content.
- In Florida, a vessel operator is presumed to be under the influence if their blood- or breath-alcohol level is at or above .08.
- Any person under 21 years of age who is found to have a breath-alcohol level of .02 or higher and operates or is in actual physical control of a vessel is in violation of Florida law.
As reported in USA Today, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents. Of the 651 deaths involving registered recreational vehicles in 2012, 17% were fatal boating accidents.
Source: SOURCES: Lexington, Ky.-based National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, U.S. Coast Guard, USA TODAY research Janet Loehrke and Anne Carey, USA TODAY
"Southwest Florida is a boater's paradise." Fort Myers Boating Accidents Lawyer, Randall Spivey, Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. urges boaters "to enjoy Florida's paradise, but remember boating and alcohol are a deadly combination."
Fort Myers Boating Accidents Lawyer, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by less than 2 percent of Florida attorneys. He has handled over 1,600 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239. 337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com. Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information. You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.