Busy Waterways this Weekend for Rabun

Since Independence Day falls on a Saturday this year, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division is expecting waterways in Rabun County and across the state to be busier than usual. Rangers across the state will be working throughout the weekend, prepared to enforce the boating laws, educate on best safety practices, and do their best to see that everyone goes home safely. All they ask is that boaters remember and follow what they call “The Big 3.”

Wear your life jacket. The best way to increase your chances of surviving a boating incident is to wear it. The law says that there must be a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket on board for each person in the boat. Children under 13 are required by law to have it on if the boat is moving, whether drifting or under power. The Rangers recommend that everyone wear them, all the time.

Obey and Follow Navigation (and other) Rules and Laws. Many boating incidents are caused by the operator not knowing or following the “rules of the road” on the waterways, including the “100 foot rule”.  It states that you cannot operate a boat or PWC at greater than idle speed within 100 feet of another boat, a dock, a bridge, a person in the water, the shoreline, a marina or other public use areas. Breaking this law is extremely dangerous and Rangers will be on high alert for violators of the 100-foot law.

The final in the big three is, of course, Don’t drink and boat.The blood alcohol content for BUI is 0.08, mirroring Georgia’s DUI law. Just like on the roadways, if you are caught over the limit, you will be arrested.

Just over a month into boating season and Rangers have already made nearly 100 Boating Under the Influence (BUI) arrests this year (97). There were 182 in all of 2014.