Happy 4th of July

Greetings Fellow Bloggers: I wish to take this time to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!
I would also advise that all vacationers and tourists should drive safely and use designated drivers if consuming alcohol and operating a motor vehicle.

In this blog I wish to call attention to a rather lesser known but nevertheless equally important crime that I have experienced over the past 20 years. Specifically, the crime is OUI ,and in essence mirrors the DUI laws for motor vehicles except it involves all sorts of water craft, including motorboats and jet skis with motors and used on lakes and ponds in Arizona. Many people unfortunately do not realize that such craft are covered under Title 28 and therefore all the penalties associated with criminal DUI charges stemming from a motor vehicle can be equally applicable to watercraft.

In light of this reality, it is of good practice that a watercraft owner or lessee should designate a sober driver for all water craft. You should use the same common sense as you would for a motor vehicle.

Police patrol all Arizona Lakes and Ponds and thus you have the same criminal exposure as though on a public road.

Fortunately, all the constitutional protections for criminal defense are also afforded for these water craft incidents. Nonetheless, the best approach is to designate a watercraft driver and not try to ‘beat the system’ or ‘the odds’. Officers still need ‘reasonable suspicion’ to even stop a craft, but all breath, urinalysis or blood tests also can be ordered for the operator of the watercraft and so there are many consequences, just as in a normal DUI which can be brought forth against a suspect. The BAC limit of .08% is the same as for motor vehicles, as well as fines and jail time.

So, enjoy getting in the water and cool off this Summer, but be careful.