The Dangers of Boating While Intoxicated
As you consume alcoholic beverages, your body absorbs the alcohol into your bloodstream, where it then travels into your brain. Here, it interferes with normal brain processing. This can inhibit your coordination, delay your reaction times, and make you more likely to act dangerously or irrationally.
Alcohol can trick you into thinking that you are still capable of operating boats and other watercraft even if you are above the legal limit. Law enforcement officials on the lake or river can charge you with boating while intoxicated, or BWI. If you are facing BWI charges, please contact an experienced Houston BWI attorney from Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C., today at 713-222-0400 to defend your rights.
Potential BWI Hazards
Many people enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages while on the water. However, just as driving while intoxicated is pursued seriously by the police, so is boating while intoxicated. If you drink and operate watercraft, you can be a danger to yourself as well as others nearby. Potential dangers of BWI include:
- Colliding with stationary objects
- Running over swimmers in the water
- Hitting nearby boats
- Tossing your passengers overboard
- Falling overboard yourself
If you or a passenger falls out of the boat, it can lead to drowning. Even nonfatal drowning can leave a person with permanent brain damage.
Contact Us
Although boating while drinking alcohol can lead to several immediate dangers, a BWI charge can have serious consequences on your future. You may be facing jail time, heavy fines, license revocation, and a permanent criminal record. In some cases, prosecutors and law enforcement officials may not be aware of extenuating circumstances or may have charged you unjustly. To help you defend your case, contact a knowledgeable Houston BWI lawyer from Johnson, Johnson & Baer, P.C., at 713-222-0400 today.