Greater Sudbury Police are reminding residents that they will be out on the water this long weekend focusing on impaired driving as part of "Operation Dry Water."
Police said in a release this morning:
Drinking and boating accounts for approximately 40 percent of boating-related fatalities on Canadian waterways. In order to raise awareness and reduce impaired-related deaths, the Greater Sudbury Police Service is joining the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) to launch year five of an initiative called “Operation Dry Water”. The goal of Operation Dry Water is to discourage this dangerous practice.
With the summer boating season in high gear, the August long weekend is the perfect time to remind Canadian boaters about the risks of impaired boating. Combined with sun, wind, waves and the rocking motion of the boat, the effects of impairment by alcohol and/or drugs on the water can be greatly increased.
The CSBC and the Greater Sudbury Police Service would like, through this annual initiative, to raise attention to the problem of boating under the influence and to remind boaters not to boat while impaired.
Operation Dry Water will focus on the potential risks of impaired boating, and what the Greater Sudbury Police Service and the CBSC are currently and continuously doing to discourage it.
Federal statutes dictate that, whether your craft is motorized or sail, you can be charged with Impaired Operation of a Vessel under the Criminal Code of Canada if your blood alcohol level exceeds the .08 threshold. In the eyes of the law, impaired boating, like impaired operation of a motor vehicle, is a criminal offence that can have repercussions far beyond the loss of your boating privileges.
Operation Dry Water is aimed at reducing the number of impaired-related incidents and fatalities on the water, while fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol/drug use while boating. The end goal is to achieve safer and more enjoyable recreational boating.
This initiative is made possible through support of Transport Canada’s Office of Boating Safety.