Were you aware that a conviction for Boating Under the Influence (BUI) may result in the loss of your driver’s license on land? It can—in some states, just like Driving Under the Influence (DUI).
According to Fox News, in 2020, thirteen states have laws that revoke a person’s driver’s license if they are convicted of Boating Under the Influence. The United States Coast Guard maintains a chart indicating whether a BUI conviction impacts and offenders automobile driving privileges in their state.
New Jersey recently changed its laws to impact a person’s driving privileges, and Pennsylvania is considering the same. Boating can certainly be fun, but caution must still be exercised. A 2019 report released by the U.S. Coast Guard revealed about 23 percent of boating deaths were alcohol-related. In fact, Alcohol remains the leading factor in deadly boating accidents, according to a new report released by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Most people are unaware that the Field Sobriety Tests for boaters who are suspected of being under the influence of an intoxicant are very different than those suspected of driving under the influence. A podcast discussing these tests and other issues dealing with boating under the influence may be found here.
About the Author: Steven Oberman has been licensed in Tennessee since 1980, and successfully defended over 2,500 DUI defendants. Among the many honors bestowed upon him, Steve has served as Dean of the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. (NCDD) and currently serves as chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers DUI Committee. Steve was the first lawyer in Tennessee to be Board Certified as a DUI Defense Specialist by the NCDD.
He is the author of DUI: The Crime & Consequences in Tennessee, updated annually since 1991 (Thomson-West), and co-author with Lawrence Taylor of the national treatise, Drunk Driving Defense, 8th edition (Wolters Kluwer/Aspen). Steve has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee Law School since 1993 and has received a number of prestigious awards for his faculty contributions. He is a popular international speaker, having spoken at legal seminars in 30 states, the District of Columbia and six foreign countries. After being named a Fulbright Scholar, Steve was honored to teach as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Latvia Law School in the capital city of Riga, Latvia during the Spring Semester of 2019. If you would like to contact the author, please visit his website at www.tndui.com.
