Banning booze in boats wouldn't work

Gazette Editorial Board

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Alcohol and boating are commonly mixed. And no doubt there will be a lot of mixing this Memorial Day weekend, typically the busiest boating weekend of the year on many Iowa lakes and streams.

The combination of high traffic and too much alcohol consumption raises valid concerns. More than half of the 23 boating fatalities reported in Iowa from 2006 through 2010 involved alcohol, according to Iowa Department of Natural Resources records. Certainly, people shouldn't be operating boats if they're under the influence of alcohol.

As for a call by DNR law enforcement officials to make all alcohol-related laws the same as those that apply to highway vehicle drivers, the intent is laudable. However, we doubt it would accomplish much more than angering a bunch of boaters.

DNR officials want to ban open containers of alcohol in boats, just as they are anywhere in the driver or passenger area of a motor vehicle. They say it is inconsistent that boat operators can legally drink as long as they don't exceed the 0.08 blood-alcohol limit, yet it's illegal for drivers on the road to drink at all.

Yes, it's inconsistent. But we see obstacles to mandating consistency in every way.

Banning open containers of beer in a boat would likely be ignored by most boaters, including many responsible ones. We also wonder how already limited state and local resources could handle the extra policing work required to effectively enforce a container law.

We don't think the public wants such a rule or sees a need for it. And the Iowa DNR knows of no other state with such a ban.

That said, we applaud the DNR's educational efforts to reduce excessive drinking and encourage the use of designated boat operators who aren't using alcohol. Focus enforcement on the boat operators who abuse the legal limit, and anyone who boats recklessly.

And of course, it's always good to remind boaters that wearing a life jacket makes sense. More than half of drowning victims in Iowa were not. Life jackets always stowed away don't do much good.

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