Why Is Drinking and Boating Dangerous?
Did you know that being out on the water speeds up the effects of alcohol?
And driving a boat while impaired is much more likely to lead to accidents, drownings and other tragedies. According to the RCMP, 60% of boating incidents resulting in death involve alcohol.
Don’t be a statistic! Keep reading to find out what makes drinking and boating so dangerous so you can choose to stay safe, every time.
Key Takeaways
- Being on a boat makes alcohol act faster: the hot sun, and the motion and noise of the boat, combine to make your physical body more vulnerable to impairment than when on land.
- When you drink on a boat, you have slower reaction times, your inner ear can make you unable to know which way is up if you fall in the water (leading to drowning), you are more likely to make bad choices about speed and following navigation aids (as well a boating safety practices), and if you fall into cold water you will suffer from hypothermia much more quickly (which can lead to death in a matter of minutes).
- Boating Under the Influence is illegal and punished severely in every province of Canada, because drinking and boating is dangerous.
Alcohol hits harder on the water
A lot of people think having a drink on a boat is no different than having one on the deck or around a campfire. But so-called boater fatigue works against your body from the moment you leave the dock.
When you mix alcohol with boater fatigue, your balance, peripheral vision, and reaction times take a major hit, much faster than they ever would on land.
Here’s why:
Hot sun
Spending time under the hot sun speeds up dehydration. When your body is dehydrated, it can't process alcohol efficiently, meaning a single drink has a much bigger impact on your boat than on land.
Motion and noise
The constant rocking of the waves, the drone of the engine, and the steady wind wear down your physical energy. This actually mimics a state of mild exhaustion before you even have a drink. Add alcohol, and your overall impairment is much more noticeable than it would be on land.
On a boat, you can become impaired much more quickly. And being impaired is all it takes to have an accident or get a ticket, even if your blood alcohol level is under the limit.
The 4 Main Reasons Drinking and Boating is Dangerous
If you drink while operating a boat, you put everyone on board at risk, because alcohol acts fast out on the water. There are four main reasons why drinking and boating is so dangerous:
- Slower reaction times
Because alcohol slows down your central nervous system, it steals the precious seconds you need to avoid having an accident.
Conditions on the water can change in a split second. Even when you’re on alert, you can be thrown off by a sudden wake from another boat, a shifting wind, or an unexpected swimmer.
2. Inner ear confusion leading to drowning
This is one of the scariest risks of drinking on a boat. If you fall overboard unexpectedly with alcohol in your system, the sudden shock of cold water combined with alcohol's effect on the inner ear can make you unable to figure out which way is ‘up’.
Lifesaving Society Canada cites that in nearly half of the drownings in Canada, alcohol consumption was a factor.
3. Reckless choices and bad judgment
Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, which often leads to:
- Unsafe speeds
- Ignoring buoys and markers and/or diving flags
- Skipping basic safety checks.
4. Faster hypothermia
You may think that a drink might make you feel warmer on a chilly evening, but it’s an illusion. Alcohol dilates your blood vessels, which actually forces your core body heat out faster. If an intoxicated boater ends up in cold water, hypothermia sets in rapidly, which leads to death in a matter of minutes.
What does the law say about drinking and boating?
Drinking and driving rules are the same for operating a motor vehicle or a boat. Operating a boat under the influence (BUI) carries heavy penalties across Canada, and you could be pulled over and boarded by officials at any time.
Keep the following points in mind before you reach for a drink:
- A BUI conviction can stick with you as a permanent criminal record.
- In many areas, a BUI conviction will instantly suspend your boating license, and possibly your everyday driver's license as well.
- You can also expect to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in court fines, followed by a massive spike in your boat insurance rates.
Learn about safe boating at the National Boating Safety School
Stay sober while boating! It’s the law, and now you know why.
And remember, you need to carry your Pleasure Craft Operator Card with you every time you operate a motorized vessel on Canadian waters.
Take our Transport Canada-approved safe boating course online and pass the official test to get your proof of competency. You’ll be certified for life!
At the National Boating Safety School we teach safe boating basics, which includes everything from navigation and Canadian boating laws to safety equipment and more. Register now!