Police at Seafair arrest 66 boaters for BUI
Aug 6, 2012, 12:12 PM | Updated: 1:22 pm
The Mercer Island Police Department cited 66 boaters for Boating Under the Influence (BUI), down slightly from the year before. (97.3 KIRO FM Photo/File)
(BUI)
It was a big weekend out on the water, but some boaters ended up spending Seafair under arrest.
The Mercer Island Police Department cited 66 boaters for Boating Under the Influence (BUI), down slightly from the year before.
“What that tells us is that we’ve gotten the word out the last couple of years,” said Commander Leslie Burns. “We encountered an awful lot of designated drivers on boats that were out there so we were really, really pleased with those numbers.”
Officers were on the lookout for wake violations and overloaded boats. Just like driving a car, a boater can be cited for BUI if their blood-alcohol level is over .08. Drivers are also put through a series of field sobriety tests.
“I just don’t think that they realize that there’s the same threshold for operating a boat that we have for operating a vehicle on a roadway,” said Burns.
Commander Burns said many boaters are surprised to learn they can be arrested for drinking and driving out on the water.
