A sampling of statistics for water violation citations in 2013
To promote water safety this past June, Missouri instituted various checkpoints and inspections to make sure Missouri boaters took necessary safety precautions while boating and that their water vehicles were maintained and functioning properly.
Over the course of just two days, the water division of the Missouri State Highway Patrol checked 1405 boaters; out of that group, the following violations were cited:
- 14 people were arrested for boating while intoxicated (BWI)
- 8 summonses were issued for boating safety violations
- 7 people were arrested for other violations
- 3 people were arrested for traffic violations
- 114 people were issued summonses for boating violations
- 82 people were issued summonses for non-boating violations
- 1 person was arrested for felony possession of controlled substance
- 8 people were arrested for minor possession charges
- 1 felony warrant and 2 misdemeanor warrant arrests were made
- and 482 people were issued warnings…
In other words, in just one weekend, over half of the boaters checked by State officials were in violation of Missouri’s simple water safety rules.