The part in red I thought was pretty funny What about drinking while tubing? When it comes to your annual canoe or river tubing trip, refer back to our previous post about Michigan’s drinking while boating laws. In Michigan, you could get charged with operating a tube while intoxicated because it falls under the definition of “vessel.” According to Michigan law, “’Vessel’ means every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.” The good news is that arm floaties probably don’t count as a vessel. So, drunk floatie on, (but don’t be disorderly)
Went kayaking in the delaware river this past summer with some of my wifes friends. They live in yardley, pa and have a nice small launch nearby for tubes, kayaks, and canoes. We dropped the kayaks in and loaded a tiny soft cooler with a few beers and headed down river. Our trip lasted a few hrs after stopping a few times to fish and swim (each only having 2 or 3 beers). As we floated up to the boat launch that we planned on pulling out at, we noticed a pa fish and boat officer staring us down. We quietly floated to the bank and started dragging our kayaks out when the officer approached us and asked to us to stop what we were doing. He then singled out my wifes friends husband and started grilling him with questions. Asked him how many beers he's had, and then walked him to his car for a sobriety test. He refused a breathalizer as officer robocop continued to treat him like a troublemaking kid. Next thing ya know he's handcuffed in the back of the car and going "downtown" for blood tests. His BAL was just over the legal limit and he was charged with BUI. Yes BOATING UNDER THE INFLUENCE in a kayak. We all really had no idea that it was even a law(applying to non motorized vessels), guess we should've known better. Not totally blaming the officer as we should've known the laws but we werent acting like little hoodlums and he still singled us out and turned our great day to crap in a hurry. Sorry for the long story but always check the laws even if you think you know them.
I've been on the water all my life and I can't count how many alcohol related accidents I've seen. While kayaks are simple, fun, vessels they can also be dangerous. Even a little alcohol slows your reaction and a simple maneuver can become over-whelming . I'm sure that officer was just trying to prevent another body recovery operation in the future. Dragging a bloated body out of the water is something that affects you forever. Save the beers for around the campfire after a great day on the water. KaptJaq
I'm no sea lawyer, "BUT" two things apply here, as Kaptjaq said reaction time! Although, I have a "huge problem" with getting a ticket for tubing, It's kind of nuts if your just floating, where I see the issue is getting to the point of drowning while intoxicated! It's easy enough to drown as it is let alone drunk. But the other is, who else you put in "danger" by doing so! As our Good Kapt said again, you "DO NOT" want to see a body being pulled from the water, I have and done it! It's not a pretty sight especially when it could have been prevented and you have family members in tears on shore. I would be a hipocrite to say I have never done it, but I don't make it a practice any more.
Dave and Kapt i completely understand what you guys are saying. Even a beer or two can slow reaction times in some people. While we were kayaking, we were basically just floating down the river, hardly even maneuvering the kayaks unless we wanted to head to a different side of the river. Im not arguing the point with you guys just explaining our situation a little more.
What a load of crap. Job holding, tax paying citizens are easy to spot. They provide funding, crackheads do not.
good thing my buddy's and I didn't get nailed on the Little Manistee River then. We had a couple floating beer coolers too so I guess we would be boos runners....
Not wanting to argue, I want to be clear also, I think it's complete B.S. for getting a ticket for a beer or two and being a "responsible" citizen. What has happened, and I have seen it "MANY, MANY" times in the military is a very few, screw it up for the rest of the good people, then the laws come down. A quick story, Piney you may remember this! The guy that fell out of his dear stand last year here in southern NJ, BAC of .18 ….. Intoxicated while hunting! Broke his ribs, arm and collar bone….. What a dumb A$$.. That's what I'm talking about, thats why people don't let hunters on their land forthe most part and hence a bad name!
From my experience the officer probably saw something that made him focus on your friend. Since he was so close to the limit, if he had cooperated and taken the field mobility sobriety test he probably would have gotten off with a lecture on water safety that would have included the statement that alcohol and water don't mix. At least that is what would have happened in my area. We don't want to ruin anybody's day, we just want them to be safe. KaptJaq
KaptJaq[/quote] I left out the part where he took the sobriety test without question and passed it just fine. He then refused a breathalyzer. A mistake on his part, maybe, but either way we all learned a lesson that day.
What was his sentence/punishment for this crime? I think that for a group of well behaved adults this should have been handled better. It's not like driving where you are putting innocent people's lives on the line. I do have concerns for the EMS who may have to save you if you did have an accident.
I've never heard of that interpretation of the law before. I can't say I've never done it myself, but it's been about 15 years since I last went tubing around here. Below is a local news story that came to mind from last summer. http://fox17online.com/2013/07/24/trashed-tubers-trashing-the-river/#axzz2n7U9M6Et
343, your little news clip there says it all! 0ver 4400 cans, bottles, and trash Thats why there are going to be ticketing! Oh well, no different no matter where you live. We deal with the beach idiots daily her where there are "tons" of trash.
He was charged with "boating under the influence" and had to show up in court. Court was postponed a few times and i believe he beat it but still payed a nice chunk of $$$ for his lawyer
I think its bull to get charged for Operating a tube while intoxicated. But people Littering should get burnt good, That's just not acceptable
My brother said he and his friends were once approached on a boat launch by the authorities. This was back in the days of pull off tabs on cans. They were asked to show all their empties and then they had to produce a top or tab for wach one or they were all getting littering tickets. He was given credit for saving his slob friends' butts because he had always put his pull tabs in his tackle box and wasn't particular about emptying it after every trip. He had a surplus.
