Coast guard and DUI's
 

A guy I know got pulled over last labour day coming out of PIB and they proceeded to put him through the test---he failed , then they made him blow ---OVER---. Nothing was done that night but towed 400' back to docks. He just got notice in the mail yesterday about this, giving him three choices:: guilty;guilty with explanation; not guilty. He's wondering if/when he pleads guilty will this follow him to canadain coast guard records, or even to his insurance company.???
Does anybody know anything about how this all works:confused:
You can PM me if you don't want things public. Thanx Dave

The first thing he should do before pleading anything is get a lawyer.

Everyone can start throwing their stones; I readily admit that in my younger CG days I issued many civil penalties for boating while intoxicated.
Something did happen that night. The Coast Guards primary objective is to remove an intoxicated operator from the vessel before something bad happens. The most important event of the evening was that the boat was towed back to the dock and safely moored awaiting a fresh operator. Unless your friend committed some other offense this is a civil offense that has an associated penalty of not more that $1,000.00. The Coast Guard encourages person to respond in writing to the hearing officers with mitigating information. Again the intent is to remove the hazard and educate the user, not to issue fines, imprisonment, or other hardships. Now, some states do have memoranda of understandings that accept the Coast Guard Boarding Officers as peace officers and therefore the Federal Civil cite may also be applied in state court or be applied against state driving records. I would recommend that your friend or anyone that receives a white notice of violation from the Coast Guard reply in writing to the hearing officer with mitigating information. Be very careful if you feel you need a lawyer, most lawyers I have responded to have no idea what their dealing with when is comes to this part of U S Code and it may cost more than its worth. Again every case and circumstance is different, this is offered as a general observation from my experience as the Boarding Officer. :cool:

I am unsure how it will relate to boating, however, if you are convicted of DWI in the U.S. you need to apply for a pardon to cross the border into Canada even if you are not the owner or operator of the vehicle. I think this is a great idea becuase it really enforces the ZERO TOLERANCE policy. Best of luck and I am glad no one was hurt.

Shane

Ahhhh, alcohol, the root of all evil.
Now we've all seen sober people who are more of a danger to society on the roads and the water. I for one do not think a sobriety test is any test of skill or competency, and half of us could not pass thier calasthenic test sober anyway. I'm not a fan of drinking and driving but be realistic, most people do it, and the people I know are more careful, because of the fear of being caught, because a DWAI can destroy somebodies career and life.
It just seems to me that it's turned into a business, and those kind of people are easy targets. And what really burns my ass, why is it okay for are Troopers to have a big golf outing, get all twisted and drive home? Or when have you ever seen a cop driving at the speed limit? Seems hypocritical to me.
Just my .02

...Or use a signal!:rolleyes:

I agree, big business!

Necessary? Yes...But still a hypocritical business.

It is nothing more than a revenue raising game plan. They do not care if the average citizen/person lives or dies !

bajadave ,

you are So right!!

there is one way to avoid dui's all together.

BECOME A COP.

im sure the policemen out there will disagree so before you do i know its not all of you that dont bust other cops , just the majority.

Bajadave, I wouldn't have replied to this at all, if it wasn't for what happened to me last night. I've always thought that every cop in my town drives like an a-hole. Nothing ever happens here, so when a call comes in, every cop on duty races 90 mph through town to get to whatever it is.
Back to my point. I was leaving my in-laws last night, who live in the same town as me, on a quiet little side street, like me. As I'm walking across the sreet to my truck, carrying my 7 month old daughter, a cop comes around the corner and rips down the street at what I'd guess to be around 60 mph. This is a 25 mph street, where 2 cars can't pass between the parked ones at the same time. A few seconds either way, and he could have run us both over easily.
After I got my daughter in the car, I drove in the direction Officer Dickhead went, to see what the rush was. Are you ready for this? 5, count 'em, 5 cop cars - for a kid who was maybe 14 on a stolen bike. Now that is worth running down a pedestrain for isn't it?
I ripped him a new one and felt a little better about it, but I'm still pissed. What do you do? I could go to the station today and make a complaint, but I know nothing will happen, except maybe to me if I get pulled over. Sorry for the long rant, this just really pissed me off, and has nothing to do with DUI at all.

Well said Troutly!

well put, buford! i would say with over 1800 DWI arrests, you are an expert. :eek:

Troutly,
Very well said!:D
MD

Thank You Troutly.

I agree Troutly, that was well said.

I can speak from experience however that some of the other stuff that was said is bang on here. I know some of our local cops personally and have seen them leave the bar hammered and be the designated driver for all their buddies because if they get pulled over they just give a smile and go about their business. I too have blown over, just barely and they let me go because they said I appeared sober and passed any test they gave me I just was over the limit so I really can't *****. I do watch myself more carefully now however.

Sorry, Dave that didn't help you out at all! :rolleyes:

Troutly,

Thanks for throwing the BS flag. Most of the time it only took showing the pictures of the body parts to emphasize the "Spirit of the Law"

We used two behavior standards one for AFLOAT and the other for ASHORE. Sometimes I would board a boat at sea and administer the HGN and observe additional behavior to establish whether or not to tow a boat to the dock for further testing. We did not use the word preliminary for our breath test. Alco Sensor II's or III's were used as final results. The units were required to be calibrated every 5 tests and disposed after 1000 if I remember it right.

I am no longer involved in recreational boating safety or small boat operations. I am a very active boater and understand the observations of over enforcement. I admit that I had to spent a lot of time teaching and counseling personnel how to walk the fence of enforcement verses infringement on the publics right to have fun on the water. I also vividly understand how the rest of peoples lives are affected when the fun on the water goes very bad very quick.

Brad

ATTABOY troutly......I knew you would get on here!!!!!
Now....get them drunks OFF the road!!!!!!!!!!

First, WELL SAID TROUTLY! I am a bit more opinionated in this area than most I guess. I have seen, witnessed and lived the HORRIBLE effects of alcohol many times over. First, i lost both my mother and father-in-law to alcohol related deaths at different times. Secondly, I am a firefighter and have pulled many dead and people who should be dead victims from auto accidents. When you see the HORRIFIC things that happen in these accidents, ESPECIALLY TO INNOCENT victims you WILL have a DIFERENT POINT OF VIEW. I agree that there are certain cops that think they are above the law. In fact I know a few myself. Here locally we had a pair of cops that were out at a strip joint, got drunk, drove and one died. The one driving quickly checked himself into a re-hab and psych clinic to avoid potential problems and the department tried to make him out to be the victim. BULL****! If you DRINK and DRIVE I have NO RESPECT for you! In today's day and age NO ONE can say they were not aware. If you do drink and drive and have an accident and kill yourself, I have NO pity for you! If you kill or injure someone else then I have a deep resentment toward you. Why? Because you were so selfish that you did not take into consideration the JEOPARDY you put EVERYONE on the road in by your STUPID ACTIONS! I have NO PROBLEMS with drinking. I enjoy a cocktail here and there as well. BUT, you can BET YOUR ASS I WILL NOT DRIVE ANYTHING AFTERWARDS! It is just stupid. When you pull innocent victims from vehicles and see the pain and sufferring that they and or their loved ones go through, you will soon understand just what I am talking about. Sorry to preach but I just HATE to see stupid things like this happen, especially when they were TOTALLY preventable. Go out and party and drink till your hearts content, just PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have someone who HAS NOT DRANK be your driver. Thanks and have a GREAT SUMMER!

Shane:cool:

Troutly, I don't mean to blanket all cops either. I know some great ones ... and you certainly seem to be one of them and I commend you for it.

Nor do I think drinking and driving is ok.

Saturday morning I wake up to find out that there was an accident on my front lawn early in the morning. As the house is about 300 feet from the road, I didn't hear the accident. The driver was a young guy ... my age or so, I think 28. He had been at a Stag & Doe and got hammered and was falling asleep at his table. His wife had gone home before him to tend to their 1 year old child. He decided he better head it home as he was so drunk and tired and hopped behind the wheel of his F150. He missed the bend in the road at my house and when he hit my gravel drive way he woke and tried to correct but it was too late. He hit the sign in the yard that warns of the upcoming railroad tracks which sent him straight towards the 2 oaks in the yard. The first one hit the front of the truck on the drivers side which corrected his path straight into the next one. Head on. He died on the scene. His wife worried about him, decided to head into town with the baby with her and came upon the accident.

My prayers are with his family, it was his own fault but I still feel for him.

Let me start off by saying --I didn't mean for this to turn into a smear fest-- The guy has nothing against the coasties for pulling him over-- he did fail the test, and realizes very well that he should not of piloted that boat that night, he screwed up.
when i said nothing happened-- what i meant was that he wasn't brought into the station and booked or anything else other than left to sleep it off till the next day.
But you're right what did happen was the CG made the water safer by taking a 'possible accident' from behind the wheel.
The fact that some cops do what they do, I really don't understand, We also have some of what was described above. But not the problem that i'm focusing on right now.
This guy just wanted to know what the proper procedure was to basically say he was sorry for being stupid, pay the fine, and try to keep a learning lesson from costing him a lot more money and hassle than what is ultimately neccesary.
Bschoe--- you're totally right. The fines must have come up a little max. allowed by law ---$5000, under the recommended fine $750 is marked, yet the fine charged is written up at $1100. Plus the fact that he had a nav light out, rec. $50 fine charged at $100. Should he write back to see if the fine can be lessened to the rec. amounts???

Thanx again for all the posts

What types of tests have you all seen given? They checked me several weeks ago (was not drinking at the time). Did ABC's finger counting etc. May be a good idea to practice these if you plan on being checked.

del sol,

I always recommend that boaters respond in writing before sending the check. Again the intent is to educate not to assess penalties or create hardship. This is not a guarantee but I used to see the Hearing Officers respond kindly to mitigating circumstances and peoples heart felt new understanding of the law and support of safety of life at sea.

We used to have a program on Lake St. Clair, where boaters who were issued equipment violations could return to the station within a given time frame with proof of the corrected discrepancies and have the notice of violation removed. Again, I must qualify that this was 8 years ago. It certainly can’t hurt to write in and give it a try. Heck, I stood before the county judge many times (speeding tickets) when I was 16 begging him to give me a break and most of the time it worked.:(

Brad

bschoe, You must be familar with Terry M.;)

Oh' yes I am. It's been a while, but yes I knew him pretty well!:)

Small world, When did you leave Lake St.Clair?

Lee,

I left late summer or 94 and went to Guam for 3 years. Lake St. Clair was a blast in the summer and hosted lots of great boats but I prefer a 12 month boating season. Say hello to Terry for me if you see him.

Brad