FEWER DRINKING MISHAPS AT LAKE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 27, 1992                   TAG: 9202270156
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID M.  POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
FEWER DRINKING MISHAPS AT LAKE
Game wardens who set up late-night sobriety checks for boaters on Smith Mountain Lake last summer encountered plenty of intoxicated folks.
But wardens say they also noticed an encouraging trend - an increasing number of clear-eyed captains at the helm of boats otherwise filled with revelers.
"We're seeing more `designated operators,' " said Lt. Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Accident statistics appear to support anecdotal evidence that a two-year campaign aimed at reducing the number of drunken boaters at Smith Mountain Lake is having an effect.
In 1990, alcohol was a factor in one in three accidents at the lake.
In 1991, the number fell to one in four.
Water-safety officials say they hope the statistics reflect their efforts to draw attention to the dangers of drinking and boating.
"Hopefully, that's beginning to make some inroads," said Bob Hawlk, chairman of the Smith Mountain Lake Water Safety Council.
"It's going to take a long time, but we hope that the statistics show some positive effect of all the attention that has been paid to `Don't Drink and Boat.' "
Hawlk cautioned that it could take several more years for a true pattern to emerge from accident statistics.
"One year does not make a trend," he said.
The 1991 accident statistics show that Smith Mountain Lake is still one of the most accident-prone bodies of water in Virginia.
In 1991, there were 24 reported boat accidents with one fatality and 20 injuries.
Martin said he considers Smith Mountain a safe lake, considering its heavy use during the summer, its narrow channel and its 500 miles of shoreline.
"How many 500-mile stretches of highway do you know of where someone wasn't killed last year?"

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB