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HavasuUncleLarry
08-21-2007, 07:59 AM
AZ Game And Fish
Joins OUI Enforcement Effort
TRI-STATE - The Arizona Game and Fish Department will be part of a multi-agency enforcement effort on the Colorado River this weekend, checking for individuals operating under the influence.
Arizona Game and Fish, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, the Lake Havasu Police Department, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be enforcing Arizona's OUI legal limit of a .08 blood-alcohol content.
"More than half of all boating accidents involve alcohol," said Tim Baumgarten, who coordinates safety checkpoints for the Arizona Game and Fish Department's Kingman regional office.
All boaters passing through the checkpoint will be subject to a systematic safety inspection this weekend. Operators will be checked for alcohol impairment and all boats stopped will be checked for required safety equipment, such as proper life jackets and working fire extinguishers.
I know none of the boaters on this forum drive and drink.. so just make sure you have all the required safety equipment.... Lets Be Safe Out THERE!!!!
Any one feel like giving an 'old' man a ride this weekend....... ????
Enjoy
Larry Reese
Havasu 45 TV

32sunrkt
08-21-2007, 08:35 AM
that this weekend ??
why not next weekend ?? the big one, seems would be more fruitful.
:idea:

boats&bars
08-21-2007, 08:36 AM
cause they can.

Ziggy
08-21-2007, 08:39 AM
They wouldn't want to skew the Labor Day statistics now would they?
.

drejustice
08-21-2007, 09:02 AM
They did that this past weekend back here on the East at the Lake we boat on.
Wave of awareness
Extra officers patrolled state waters Saturday to encourage boating safety.
By Mike Allen
SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE -- Mark Athey waited on his WaveRunner to be handed a citation while his 13-year-old daughter and her cousin giggled at his predicament.
Athey had, in fact, made an effort to boat carefully. He was pulling his daughter and her cousin behind him in a raft, and had one of his daughter's friends riding behind him to watch in case one of them fell out and he didn't see it.
But Sgt. Bryan Young with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries explained to him that his jet ski was only rated to hold three people total, not four. If for some reason he had to put all three girls on the craft with him, there could be problems.
Athey, 32, was a good sport about his ticket. "No big deal," he said. "It makes sense. I know it won't happen again."
Conservation police officers, formerly known as game wardens, were out in force Saturday as part of Operation SWEEP, a statewide daylong effort to heighten law enforcement on Virginia's most congested bodies of water.
Instead of the usual eight, 40 officers patrolled the lake in shifts from first light until after midnight. The operation involved 125 officers statewide.
The point was to call attention to boating safety and educate people about boating regulations, said Capt. Ron Henry. SWEEP stands for Safer Waterways through Enforcement and Education Programs.
Smith Mountain Lake has been central to statewide discussions of boat safety.
Monday will be the second anniversary of a crash on Smith Mountain Lake that sparked outcries for changes in boating safety law. Lawrence and Judith Lewis were killed the night of Aug. 20, 2005, when a speedboat driven by Mark de Tournillon Sr. crashed into their cabin cruiser. De Tournillon, who was drunk and operating the boat at high speed, was ultimately sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Though there were no boating-related deaths on Smith Mountain Lake last year, 23 people died on Virginia waters, the most in the past 10 years. This April, two men drowned in Smith Mountain Lake when the antique replica craft they rode in overturned. At Claytor Lake, a man who fell from a boat Aug. 8 is still missing and presumed drowned.
This year, conservation police officers on Smith Mountain Lake have been dealing with accidents since March. "That's way early for us out here," said Young.
Every year, Smith Mountain Lake's waters become more crowded with boat traffic. "If this had been a highway, it would be six lanes by now," Henry said. "When you combine congestion with inexperience, I think that's the biggest problem we face."
The General Assembly this year passed a law that requires boaters to take courses in operation and safety, said state boating law administrator Charles Sledd.
The law is being phased in gradually. By July 2009, any boaters age 20 or younger will have to be able to prove they have taken a course that meets established national standards. The courses will be available in classroom and Internet settings, Sledd said.
By July 1, 2010, this law will apply to boaters 35 or younger. Boaters with 25 years or more of experience will likely be able to take a test rather than a full course to be in compliance, Sledd said.
Early Saturday afternoon, the boat commandeered by Young and Officer Jason Harris, usually stationed out of Marion, ticketed Athey and issued verbal warnings to others for minor violations.
One woman, Lynette Webb, who was stopped because of a faded decal but not cited for any violations, complained that boating rules still don't go far enough. There's no minimum age in Virginia to operate a boat, she said.
Webb said she approved of the increased law enforcement presence on the lake that day. "How can you ever have too much protection?"
Operation SWEEP constitutes a test run for a new enforcement program, said Maj. Steve Pike. The DGIF hopes to hold several enhanced enforcement days on public waters through next spring, targeting reckless boat operating and alcohol abuse.

Havasu Luvr
08-21-2007, 09:10 AM
Hey Larry, if we were coming out this weekend you would have a spot. For that matter you are welcome on my boat anytime.... a few more weeks and I may have time to enjoy your fair and wonderful city.....:D

Danhercules
08-21-2007, 09:55 AM
I will be in Havasu this weekend. Break out he O'Douls. :D

Big Inch
08-21-2007, 10:26 AM
Why don't they let us know the days that they will have no law enforcement so we can all go out and get loaded out of our minds and speed up and down the river :eek:

vee-driven
08-21-2007, 02:24 PM
Why don't they let us know the days that they will have no law enforcement so we can all go out and get loaded out of our minds and speed up and down the river :eek:
That's what i'm talkin about!