Newport News, Virginia (VA), law enforcement officers have taken a firmer approach to controlling unsafe actions by recreational boaters, cracking down on drunken boating incidents. Boating while intoxicated can be very dangerous because vessels do not contain brakes. In addition, it is difficult to discriminate between other boats’ lights and the shoreline backlighting during the night.
The U.S. Coast Guard reports that boating under the influence of alcohol or accounts 17 percent of boating fatalities. In addition, according to the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, officers issued 7,500 safety warnings during the nationwide Operation Dry Water in 2010.
Accoring to the Daily Press, many boaters, like Nelson Furman, of Charlotte, North Carolina (NC), for instance, avoid exiting the marina on weekends and holidays to limit their contact with unsafe boaters. “A lot of people out on weekends at least act like they don’t know what they’re doing with a boat,” Furman told the newspaper. He believes requiring licenses for piloting boats would be the best approach to put an end to boating accidents.
As a Newport News, Virginia (VA) personal injury lawyer, I deal with many cases where boaters and others enjoying water activities have been severely injured by drunk boaters. I am glad to see that officials are addressing this negligent and dangerous risk taking by some reckless folks on the water.
SL
About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, which has offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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