Dont be one of the few to get a BWI on the water.
I have been stressing about how important safety is out on all bodies of water. Dont be one of the few to get a BWI on the water. I thought maybe it’s time to do some research on how Iowa lakes are patrolled. I have been on the lakes for many years. I have seen multiple situations from inexperienced boaters to boaters that were drinking and shouldn’t be driving a boat let alone a car after a day on the lake. That made me think what happens if the DNR pulls you over, what are the fines, how many do they pull over giving BWI.
Let’s start with a story first before giving you the facts, I was on the lake does not matter which lake but an Iowa lake I had a tour of bachelorette’s who wants to chill on the water with a lily pad. As we were searching the perfect place to anchor, to get the pad out and jumping on and off the boat. We saw a boat that was driving erratically. I told the group that let’s stay clear of them, we went to the opposite end of the lake where they were. About half an hour later we saw Life flight, and ambulance come to the lake it made it on the local news. I found out later that it was caused by the driver who was drunk and had a .125 in his system, there was an accident that hurt the people on board of the vessel. No one died thankfully, one was hurt enough that he is paralyzed waist down.
The point of this story isn’t to have fun when you are on the water, but someone needs to be the responsible one to stay sober and drive people back to the car. I know that’s not a fun job because you want to enjoy the fun but it’s a lot better than being paralyzed waist down. I decided I wonder what the penalty is for a BWI in Iowa, so I looked it up, this is what I learned.
The point of this story isn’t to have fun when you are on the water, but someone needs to be the responsible one to stay sober and drive people back to the car.
First Offense: A Serious Misdemeanor
A serious misdemeanor can result in the following punishments:
- Imprisonment in county jail for at least 48 hours.
- Assessment of a fine up to $1,000.
- Loss of boat operating privileges for one year.
- Assignment to a substance abuse evaluation and treatment, and a course for drinking drivers.
Second Offense: An Aggravated Misdemeanor
An aggravated misdemeanor can result in the following punishments:
- Imprisonment in county jail or community-based correctional facility for at least seven days.
- Assessment of a $1,500 to $5,000 fine.
- Loss of boat operating privileges for two years.
- Assignment to a substance abuse evaluation and treatment, and a course for drinking drivers.
Third Offense: A Class “D” Felony
A class “D” felony can result in the following punishments:
- Imprisonment in the county jail for 30 days to one year.
- Assessment of a $2,500 to $7,500 fine.
- Loss of boat operating privileges for six years.
- Assignment to a substance abuse evaluation and treatment, and a course for drinking drivers.
DNR
The DNR website has more information here > Boating While Intoxicated (iowadnr.gov) another great article I found about this was from the Des Moines Register read it here > Iowa DNR to crack down on drinking while boating on Fourth of July weekend (desmoinesregister.com)
Now when I read about how many BWI happen on our waterways I was shocked, I had to find out the truth, so I emailed DNR to ask, the register was right on average. They told me annually they have 40 BWI , I also asked if it is because of lack of funding to get the right people to enforce this. “Though the BWI arrests may seem low, as requested, they are just an average. In Iowa our waterways are used by many with over approximately 235,000 registered boats yet very few boat accidents. Our boat accidents average about 25 total accidents annually which is relatively low compared to the national statistics. We can always improve and strive to do that annually with our enforcement efforts. We hire temporary seasonal water patrol officers to serve as a “force multiplier” for our waterways yet they are not trained or certified in BWI enforcement.”
After hearing this it worries me, why are they not trained or certified for this enforcement? As I have been on the water I have seen accidents that are minor where you don’t register it to the DNR, boaters just help each other out so when something happens, we tow it to land, and the owner gets the boat fixed or whatever happens. The point is there are more than 25 accidents in a year and there should be more than 40 BWI in a year. Not that I want people to get in trouble, but I know and see where the operators should not be driving. That there should be another person driving the vessel. This shows that we should get our officers trained, be out keeping the water way safe so we can go tubing, skiing, fishing, and many other things we like to do while on the water.
With that said this also shows how important it is to have a service where you can hire a captain to keep you safe on the lake. Captain Young captains are trained when they see an operator dangerously driving the vessel to get out of its way and keep the passengers safe away from an accident. Once they are in a safe place, they feel like this boat operator could hurt others to call the local authorities and DNR let them know so it’s in their hands to take care of the operator. We did our job protecting our passengers, plus protecting other boaters from getting hurt. We take it super seriously for safety. We do not want anyone to get hurt from poor choices. If you want to enjoy a drink while on the water and always the one who must drive people around just hire Captain Young Travels to keep you safe on the waterways. We will give you an awesome journey, plus now you know your family and friends are in good hands.
– Captain Young (USCG Captain)
