Official: Boating More Dangerous Than Driving

Official: Boating More Dangerous Than Driving

There are no seatbelts or airbags, and, at speeds up to 170 miles an hour, driving while behind the wheel of a boat can be deadlier than doing the same on the road, according to DEM boating safety coordinator Michael Scanlon.

“There is a certain perception that it’s not as important or as dangerous as driving a car under the influence,” Scanlon said. “When you’re in a boat you’re not sitting down with your seat belt on. If you hit something you’re going to either get ejected from the boat or be catapulted into something in the boat.”

Earlier this month, two Massachusetts women were killed when their boat slammed into a rocky outcropping known as Despair Point in Narragansett Bay.

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The two deaths—coming before the normal start of boating season on Memorial Day—are double the number of fatalities on the water last year.

The operator of the boat, who survived, has been charged with boating while intoxicated.

As if the absence of seatbelts and the high speeds did not make it dangerous enough, Scanlon said the action of the waves and the heat of the sun exacerbate the effects of alcohol. “Not only are they fighting the effects of the alcohol but they are also fighting the physical effects of their surroundings, so it affects you more,” Scanlon said.

The DEM Division of Law Enforcement made half a dozen arrests for boating while intoxicated in the most recent year for which the data was available, according to Scanlon. “It’s lot more prevalent but unfortunately we can’t be everywhere at all times,” Scanlon said.

He said the number of officers at the Division are down to 36, after six retired in the last two months. The DEM officers also are tasked with enforcing environmental laws on land as well.

Local police also have the authority to enforce state laws against boating while intoxicated.

Boating while intoxicated is as dangerous, if not more so, than driving a car in the same condition, but the penalties for driving are far more severe than boating. “The corresponding DWI-death-resulting law carries a maximum penalty of 15 years,” said Attorney General Patrick Lynch in a statement. “It’s mystifying why a crime that’s committed on our roads has a penalty that’s three times as stringent as the same crime committed on our waterways.”

In the meantime, Scanlon said more resources need to be dedicated to educating the public about the issue. “The problem with drinking and boating has been very hard to get out to the public,” he said.