Operation targets impaired boaters

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is setting sail for Operation Dry Water weekend — a campaign to raise awareness about the perils of boating under the influence of alcohol.

The operation, which lasts from July 5 through July 7, is supported by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Coast Guard and Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.

“The mission of [the operation] is to reduce the number of alcohol- and drug-related accidents and fatalities through increased recreational boater awareness and by fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol use on the water,” the Operation Dry Water website states.

The county has been participating in Operation Dry Water since the program began in 2009.

Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in recreational boater deaths in the United States. In 2017, alcohol use was the primary contributing factor for 275 boating accidents, Coast Guard data shows. These accidents comprised 102 fatalities and 227 injuries.

The legal limit for operating a vessel on the water is the same as for operating a motor vehicle on land, a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent. Alcohol can impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time. Sun, wind, noise, motion and vibration — common experiences on a boat — can intensify the effects of drugs, alcohol and some medications. Kootenai County began to increase the number of patrol boats for the weekend on Wednesday, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Ryan Higgins said. Two Coast Guard Patrol boats will ply the county’s waters in a bid to decrease the chances of alcohol-related boat accidents. The county typically has five boats patrolling various bodies of water, though Higgins declined to offer the exact number of boats that will be on patrol this weekend.

“It’s a good program and it does raise awareness,” Higgins said.