Students and families all across Georgia are likely looking forward to their fun and relaxing spring break plans this month. Whether you are heading out of town or staying here, this break can be a great opportunity to get outside and enjoy some warm weather.
However, spring break can be a notorious time for people, especially students, to engage in drinking and dangerous behaviors. Some can overindulge during their vacation or neglect their responsibilities to behave safely and lawfully. When this happens, people can end up getting injured or hurting someone else. For example, college students on spring break in another state recently got into a serious accident after the boat they were riding in crashed.
This story should serve as a strong reminder that people should not drink and boat.
The students were riding in a boat being operated by someone who was allegedly drunk. The driver nearly hit a barge before swerving and crashing into the shoreline. One of the passengers suffered a serious head injury and was immediately taken to the hospital, while the driver was arrested for boating under the influence of alcohol.
People who may be taking their boats out in the coming weeks and months across this state should remember that according to Georgia BUI laws, it is illegal to drive a boat if you have a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher. This is the same limit that is set for driving cars. Unfortunately, some people fail to comply with the boating laws because they either do not understand them or they choose to ignore them. In either case, it could be extremely negligent behavior.
Victims of a drunk boating accident have the same rights to take legal action against an intoxicated driver as victims of a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Injured people should not have pay for damages caused by someone else’s negligence. Pursuing compensation can be very helpful, especially for those who may require extensive and costly medical treatment.
Source: AL.com, “Spring break boating accident sends one to hospital, another to jail on BUI charge in Gulf Shores,” Marc D. Anderson, March 11, 2014
