As temperatures rise and boaters take to the water for some fun in the sun, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Navigation patrol is increasing its efforts to promote boating safety this summer.
On this bright and balmy June day, Matthew Ball is tooling across Saratoga Lake as he explains why he prefers navigation patrol duties. Ball is a deputy with the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Navigation patrol.
“I would say boaters are probably the friendliest people that we can encounter and that's why I typically like to rather be out here. Usually everybody's out here enjoying their time and they want to have a good day - and we're doing the same thing. We're trying to enjoy (it). We're having a good day, but we're also making sure people are being safe about it.”
Saratoga County officials gathered Tuesday at Brown’s Beach on Saratoga Lake to promote boater safety. Sheriff Michael Zurlo says the area waterways are seeing more boaters every year.
“The number of people on (Saratoga) Lake at any given time has increased. As a result, (so has) the opportunities for crashes, serious injury — or worse, death. If it's predictable, it's preventable,” he said. “Let us strive then to prevent. There's absolutely no reason for any person to operate a motorized vessel under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”
In New York state, it is illegal to drive a vessel with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher. It is also illegal to drive under the influence of drugs, including now legal recreational marijuana.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation says there were 192 boating accidents resulting in 118 injuries and 18 fatalities on state waterways last year. The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office reports intoxication was the primary contributing factor in more than 20 percent of boating fatalities from 2005 and 2021.
Ball says it can be harder to tell if someone driving a boat is intoxicated. Officers must have probable cause to stop a vessel.
“In a car, you got lines on a road, you got cars (that) are drifting in between the lanes, a little bit more clues. On the water, we have to rely on something being wrong with that vessel or the operator doing something that violates the navigation laws, and then get our stop, through questioning we’ll build on to ‘OK, are they intoxicated? Is there an impairment there?’”
Police have breathalyzers to test boaters, but detecting whether someone is under the influence of drugs can be more difficult. As with alcohol, smelling marijuana over the water is not enough probable cause to pull someone over, since passenger might be the one indulging. He says they will look at someone’s eyes and whether they are red to determine if they’ve used marijuana.
While they have someone pulled over, they will also go through a safety checklist to ensure boats have all the legally required safety precautions.
“A typical vessel stop for us would be, we generally look for registrations that are expired, boats going too fast through no wake zones, children without the proper life jackets on or are wearing life jackets up to the required age (of 12 years old) while the vessel is in motion,” he said. “Typically, when we do observe those types of violations, we will make our stops and then we'll just say, ‘Well, we've stopped it for this reason and this is why we're talking with you.’” And we'll go through what the law actually states as to why we stopped them and then while we're there, we'll do a vessel safety inspection. So, we start out with personal floatation devices, so the life jackets. We look for the proper sizes for the person that has an on or, if there's multiple people in the boat, do they have enough for the amount of people on the boat with them?”
Boaters on motorized vessels in New York are also legally required to have a throwable flotation device, sound producing device, anchor and line, fire extinguisher, and a visual distress signal.
A first violation for not having a boating safety certificate is a fine between $25 and $100. Penalties for boating under the influence vary with the level of impairment. The lightest penalty for a first offense is a fine of $300 to $500. A third offense within 10 years is a misdemeanor with a $750 to $1,500 fine, a maximum of 180 days in jail, or both.
Drug impairment is penalized more harshly. A first offense is a misdemeanor crime with a $500 to $1,000 fine, a maximum of a year in jail, or both. The third offense within 10 years is a Class D felony with a $2,000 to $10,000 fine and a maximum of seven years in prison, or both.
New York also has a new law that aims to make waterways safer. Brianna’s Law, named for an 11-year-old killed in a boat crash in 2005, went into effect in 2020. It requires all operators of motorized water vessels to have a boating license and complete a state-approved boating safety course. And all boaters must retake the course or their boating license will expire – even if they’ve had it for decades. The state is rolling out the process in stages by age. Currently, anyone born on or after January 1st, 1988 needs a safety certificate. Previously, boating safety certification was required to drive a personal watercraft like a jet ski, but not to drive a boat.
Ball says when they pull a vessel over, they remind drivers of the new law.
“We do try to educate more than we do to try to take legal action on somebody. We’d rather try to educate people to be safer out here. So, when we do our vessel stops and we go through the equipment if everything is good on their vessel, we’ll ask their age. We'll look (to see if) they have a boater safety card. If they don't, we’ll ask for a driver's license, so we have their information. Then we'll explain to them, you know, by 2025, you will be required to have this based on the age that you are. And so, we try to educate them on that. We do have pamphlets, stuff that we give out that the state provides us.”
Boaters of all ages will need a certificate beginning 2025.
