THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 14, 1995 TAG: 9509140354
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
North Carolina boaters will have to comply with lower alcohol tolerances under a new law that goes into effect early Friday.
The blood-alcohol threshold for boating while impaired will drop from 0.10 to 0.08.
``This law makes alcohol tolerances consistent for boaters and drivers,'' said Bob Phillips, a spokesman for Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker, chairman of a task force that proposed the new laws.
Lt. Randy Thomas said it should provide an important deterrent to boaters who may be tempted to operate their watercraft after they've had too much to drink, and it should make it easier for officers to enforce state drunken driving and boating laws. Thomas is boating safety officer for the state Wildlife Resources Commission.
``Hopefully it's going to add to our enforcement capabilities,'' he said. ``It has a little more ooomph to it.''
Nationwide, alcohol use is involved in about a third of boating accidents but in less than 6 percent of accidents in North Carolina, according to Wildlife Resources Commission statistics.
There were 206 boating accidents, including 21 deaths and 185 injuries, in 1994. Of these, 11, including seven injuries and four deaths, were related to alcohol, Thomas said.
A boat operator convicted of drunken boating under the new tolerance could face a $1,000 fine, up to 60 days in jail and community service. And while a boater does not need a license to operate a boat, anyone found guilty of boating while impaired could lose his driver's license, Thomas said.
The new alcohol threshold for boaters is part of a package of laws intended to stop underage drunken driving and intended to ensure that so-called ``designated drivers'' don't drink.
Changes in the state's criminal laws usually take effect Oct. 1. But putting them into effect two weeks early makes the state eligible for more federal funds to fight drunken driving, according to Wicker.
Also starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, a driver under 21 years old with any amount of alcohol in his system is risking a misdemeanor charge. Under current law, an underage drinking driver does not face a driving-while-intoxicated charge unless his blood-alcohol level exceeds 0.08.
Under the new law, the courts could limit driving privileges for anyone 18 to 20 years old upon a first conviction for underage drinking.
The new drunken driving laws also include a change that makes it illegal for a driver to have any alcohol in his system if there is an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle. by CNB