Don t Drink and Drive - Alcohol and Boating Don t Mix
Did you know that fully one-third of all boating fatalities are related to alcohol consumption? Although a day of sunshine and fun on the water may naturally suggest that a cooler of beer should be brought along, the results of excessive drinking can be as deadly afloat as they are on the road. Here are some of the consequences of drinking that illustrate why alcohol and boating simply don't mix.
-- Poor balance: the lack of balance that results from drinking can cause an individual to accidentally fall out of the craft, often without a personal floatation device.
-- Poor vision: impaired vision due to drinking may cause a boater to misjudge distances or run into buoys, obstacles, or even people in the water. The results of impaired vision are even worse at night, when the only points of reference may be port and starboard lights of other vessels. If you cannot make good visual judgments, an accident may ensue.
-- Poor judgment: if a companion or child falls out of the boat, you need to be in a position to make good judgments about the actions that need to be taken and other factors. There are 101 or more judgments that a person makes when driving a boat, all of which will be made poorly if under the influence of alcohol.
These three examples are just a few of the areas affected by excessive alcohol consumption: better safe than sorry. When combined with the sunshine, it doesn't take long for even a few beers to have damaging effects. Avert tragedy and/or lawsuits by staying sober behind the boatman's wheel.
Vegas Injury Attorney (http://www.vegas-injury-attorney.com/) is a Las Vegas injury attorney. Ryan Coisson is a freelance writer.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
Added: October 8, 2009
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