Vern, when did this update happen? I know they have been trying to make it go on your license but I didn't think it did yet. I know for a fact last summer it didn't. Snowmobiles did, boating didn't as of last year.

As much as humanly possible, I hope! Sorry, I have no sympathy for this guy at all. Thank God no one got hurt - someone that plastered shouldn't be driving a Big Wheel, let along a boat.

I may be totally wrong but ... To blow a .22, it sounds like he may have had a few before he arrived at the party.

Blackhawk, it was changed with the new OUIL laws. I can't remember the exact date. I wanna say last April, but not for sure.

The new law says if your caught drinkin Boating or on ORV like a snowmobile it gets posted to your driver's license. Also goes for the kids caught drinkin before they are 21.

I didn't realize that they had passed that law. I knew that snowmobiles went on your record and they were trying to do boats. I know a friend of mine got one last summer on his boat and it didn't.

Jolly, did they give him a breathalizer later of do a blood test? A BAC of .22 is pretty darned high. Quite a few years ago my buddy slammed a beer(literally) as we were leaving a party. He got pulled over about 5 minutes later and blew a .11. He tried to explain that he JUST drank a beer but they took him away anyway. They gave him one 15 minutes later and guess what? BAC of .05.

If the guy was a legit .22 then he should not have been driving anything. But, the breathalizer can be very innaccurate with certain circumstances.

I agree with Troutly about this.........

Seeing as you don't need a drivers license to operate a boat or a snowmobile for that matter in MI, what happens if you don't have a license? What do they do? Post it to the record you're going to have?

It's crazy that in MI on a boat, all of the occupants can be legally intoxicated and the operator can be drinking an open beer while underway and it is not illegal AS LONG as the operator is not beyond the legal limit. The law has been like this for years, but I don't expect it to last much longer.

I have been pulled over for a "safety inspection" after "toasting" the local lake officer with my Budweiser. I set my beer right on the deck and produced all proper documentation and was eventually set free.

I do not advocate drinking and driving of any kind, but I was not breaking the law since I wasn't beyond the legal limit. In fact it was my first and only beer of the day and I was very aware of this. In any event, it;s still legal, but I wouldn't push the limits too much or you'll have to pay the consequences, just like our friend above will.

Ranman,

You are exactly right, if you get caught and don't have a license yet the state assigns you a number and it gets posted to your record before you ever get a license. (if you're ever able to)

Blackhawk,

You are right, breathalyzer can be inaccurate if not operated properly; however, I have never seen one off more than a .05 (person just drank, like in your example) so a .22 he was plastered no doubt. Breathalyzers are not admitted in court in Mi, they are only used as part of the sobriety tests in determining probable cause for an arrest.

When I say breathalyzer, I am talking about the small portable units. The breath test you take at the jail is admissable in court.

OUIL Watercraft
 

This does not go on your road driving record in Michigan. If you were to get his (29) LEIN work they have 2 records, your road and Watercraft. And yes a ORV and or snowmobile does appear on your road record. Not sure what the penalty will be through the Coast Guard, and it may be different with a Federal agency but still not on your road record. And yes his insurance company will find out and raise his rates

I suspect there were two things happening to get a .22 reading.

First, he was probably dehydrated from being on the water for 4-5 hours. I have spent many an hour sweeping races and you just flat out bake out there-much more so than running around. There is also the possibility that he was drinking during the race and that is totally unacceptable-lives can be in the hands of the patrol boats and there is no room for that kind of bullsh*t.:mad:

Second, he may have had a fairly high "resting alcohol rate". This is a phenomenon that occurs from repetitive moderate to heavy drinking. Your blood retains the alcohol over time so that even after 8-10 hours of no drinking you still have .1 or so in there. You might feel fine and even exhibit no external symptoms but there is still alcohol in the system. I knew a girl that blew a .25 at 10:00 in the morning. She was pulled over because she was driving a borrowed car with a manual trans and it jerked on her and stalled from a light. When an officer pulled her over and smelled beer in the car(spilled from the night before) he made her blow. I had at least 3 people tell me that she had not had a drink since before 2 AM that morning and was acting perfectly normal with no sign of impairment.

I am in no way trying to take this guys side, but you need to be aware that in some instances the normal wait periods do not work and your system will not metabolize all the booze.

As always- moderation is the best policy.