Excessive Water Patrol Safety Checks
12-03-2014, 08:22 AM
#41
Registered
Can we borrow either Austin or Kylie? Well...maybe Austin...Kylie will be taller than me next summer.
12-03-2014, 08:58 AM
#43
Registered
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Between A Womans Leggs in IL
Posts: 6,306
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
i wonder how this would fly..its all about them trying to extort money for their over spending crooked broke state.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXFcLVH8rTyiJ0XOkUi8S0w
12-03-2014, 10:41 AM
#45
Registered
The Illinois River, for me, has been hassle free since the 70's. The only time I was boarding was about 8 years ago on Peoria Lake. I deserved it as I was taking a leak off the back of the boat around 5 P.M. I swear no one was around when I started! They were cool though. Did the standard safety check and then told me to be more discreet next time and let me go. Really never been hassled on LOTO except the one year I had a new boat with no registration numbers. After about the 3rd boarding I just started holding up my paperwork when they approached and said, "new boat, your buddies already checked me" and they would then just wave me on.
12-03-2014, 11:15 AM
#46
Registered
You guys should try Havasu , Mojave or Mead ...on any given day you may have : Local Police , local Sheriff , local fish and game , local coast guard and local park rangers all just aching to write tickets for something !
12-03-2014, 11:32 AM
#47
Registered
The Illinois River, for me, has been hassle free since the 70's. The only time I was boarding was about 8 years ago on Peoria Lake. I deserved it as I was taking a leak off the back of the boat around 5 P.M. I swear no one was around when I started! They were cool though. Did the standard safety check and then told me to be more discreet next time and let me go. Really never been hassled on LOTO except the one year I had a new boat with no registration numbers. After about the 3rd boarding I just started holding up my paperwork when they approached and said, "new boat, your buddies already checked me" and they would then just wave me on.
IL DNR DWIs count against your drivers license this year friends!
12-03-2014, 11:41 AM
#48
Registered
iTrader: (4)
This past summer I took my wife and uncle who was visiting from out of town out for an impromptu Friday night cruise, we were going to have dinner at gang plank marina in Washington DC. I launch directly across the Potomac river from there and against better judgment I decided to enjoy my first beer of the day while on the 5 minute ride over. We come into Washington Channel a bit hot and enter the no wake zone like normal and I notice my temp gauge isn't working, or didn't seem to be so I open the hatch while idling in to check the temp gauges I have on the motors while my Uncle who is from New York and has a boat of his own, steers. Well no sooner as I check the gauges and bang my head on the hatch cover at the reflection of blue flashing lights reflecting off the mirror on the underside of the hatch, captain DC water patrol douche is in full effect almost tied up to my boat. His first question was who's been drinking, my 75% full beer that I had opened 5 min earlier is in the cup holder by me, and I said I had. He then directs to my uncle asking for his boaters safety card which he doesn't have, then asks my wife if she has one (she does but will NOT drive the boat for some reason) and she says yes, but why? Captain asshat says that Washington DC has a 0 tolerance alcohol law and since I admitted to drinking and boating he can take me to jail for BWI, write my uncle a ticket for operating a boat without an approved boaters safety card, and that unless we wanted to pay to have the police tow the boat, she would have to drive it back to the trailer. I really thought we were on one of those joke tv shows, and asked him if he was really going to take me to jail for drinking 4 sips of beer and driving my boat and he said he can if I fail a sobriety check, so I said lets go. First test is the ol' pen in the hand trick, on a boat, in a busy channel and he wasn't satisfied with my results, so I said just let me blow and blew a 0.02 which I later found out is the lowest level a breathalyzer will detect. After 30 minutes of dealing with this, he wants to do a vessel safety check which I am fine with and showed him my USCG safety sticker that was just put on my boat the weekend prior, but he wants to drag this out for some reason, so life preservers, throwable, fire extinguisher, etc...... this all started at 5:45 and its now 7:30 and I ask how much longer this will take as we are hungry, sitting right in front of the restaurant we were going to eat at and he asks to see lights, turn everything on fine, then he asks for the stern light which is in the cabin, so my wife gets it, plugs it in and it wont turn on........................ it worked the previous weekend, captain douche is licking his chops, so I go fiddle with the light and my wife didn't push it down far enough, BOOM, let there be light I said. Now its 8 o'clock, he prints out my safety check and let me know, I said thanks for ruining our night to which he said he was just doing his job, to which I replied bull**** as I started the second motor and got the eff out of there. I have nothing but respect for law enforcement officers who do just that, those who waste others time for whatever reason they see fit serve no purpose to me. Sorry for the long rant.
In 3 years I have had 6 requests to board my boat, I have denied them all and have "won". Out of those 6 only 1 was persistent enough to tie to my boat, and he tied wrong against my advice and I let him know about it....took the attention away from what he was doing.
Let's face it, if you are drunk and get pulled over, you are screwed! But let's not incriminate ourselves for having 1 or 2.
My Rules-
You don't have to answer if you have had a drink, you don't have to answer anything.
Road side sobriety tests are not mandatory, no one ever passes and you do not have to take them. A road side Breathalyzer is also just there to incriminate you, the real one (and the only one that counts) is at the station. Don't do the road side Olympics, don't blow in a hand held.....don't tell them you had 2!!!
Don't let them board your boat, ever! I have even told them to take their boots off if they must
Don't let them tie a metal boat to your painted speed boat, the shine seems to scare them away.
It's a game of poker, and being nice when you have done nothing wrong will cost you hours, feet prints on your boat, and tie up damage. Make them work to get you to surrender your rights. Again, this only works for people on the cusp. If you a drunk riding dirty, this will not work
I have never had a DWI, but I have a good friend that is a lawyer that specializes in them. He tells me most of the damage is self incriminating, and doesn't believe a .05 or .08 is drunk, it is not easily detected by anyone. He one asked me if I killed 7 people last night, and the cops showed up in the morning and asked "Did you kill anyone last night" Would you answer no, or "just one or two"
When you believe you are in the clear, make what they are doing harder. Be the intimidator not the intimidated (trust me in this day and age they are worried too). Not saying to be belligerent, just make them work.
Just last year I was stopped in a busy harbor during harbor fest at 11 pm, my pole light wasn't working. I was at idle getting ready to park. USCG ship pulls up with 6 dudes on it wants to tie and board. I threw a fit and said "you are not tying that metal boat to me, and no one with shoes is coming on this boat. Would you like me to walk on the hood of your car and your living room couch with my boots on?" I said here is my id and paperwork, give me the ticket and I will be on my way to PARK. They asked if I had anything to drink, exactly like that and I said NO. Truth is I did drink that day, but they were not specific so I assumed they were talking about the present time haha. They agreed, circled me and wrote a ticket for the light and sent me on my way.
12-03-2014, 01:03 PM
#49
Registered
I keep my boat slipped on Clinton Lake. Never been pulled over in 17 + years. The DNR has had more of a presence recently. I see a few boats pulled over on the lake over the course of a weekend but by far you see more people getting cuffed at the ramps where they wait to give you a "safety inspection" as you are pulling the boat.
12-03-2014, 01:35 PM
#50
Registered
While this doesnt work for the beer drinkers,I typically dont allow beer cans on my boat,
If I have to have a cocktail i premix rum and diet cokes in diet coke bottles.
Been stopped a few times for "safety inspections" and not once did they
ever ask if i was drinking. In fact I have had them pull up,,see the diet coke in my cup holder and wave me off.
In my mind nothing says "please harass me" more than having empty beer cans on your boat or a beer in your cup holder..
If I have to have a cocktail i premix rum and diet cokes in diet coke bottles.
Been stopped a few times for "safety inspections" and not once did they
ever ask if i was drinking. In fact I have had them pull up,,see the diet coke in my cup holder and wave me off.
In my mind nothing says "please harass me" more than having empty beer cans on your boat or a beer in your cup holder..
Last edited by HTRDLNCN; 12-03-2014 at 01:38 PM.
