RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – There’s nothing quite like a summer day on the water. However, on July 4 weekend, Lt. Joshua Thomas with the department of wildlife resources said they increase their enforcement to catch anyone boating under the influence.
“Being in the water environment with the sun, the ocean, you’re not sitting still usually, it enhances the effects of alcohol and it just makes it really dangerous,” he said.
It’s all part of Operation Dry Water. All 50 states take part in this initiative with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), amplify outreach, education, and enforcement around boating under the influence.
“We’re obviously going to focus less on the common fishing areas and more on your areas that may have a higher presence of someone boating under the influence which are going to be your sandbars, your sand pits on the James River and things like that,” he said.
Last year, officers arrested three people for boating impaired, issued 216 citations for other boating violations and gave 283 verbal warnings…