California "Boating Under the Influence" (BUI) Laws
Charges of drunk driving out on the water can be similar to and different from DUI on the road.
California Harbors and Navigation Code 655 makes "boating under the influence" (BUI) a crime akin to DUI. It allows law enforcement to arrest people who operate any motorized water vessel when they either plainly demonstrate they're intoxicated or have a .08% blood alcohol content (BAC). To be clear, people are allowed to drink alcohol on a boat in California. In fact, people with less than .05% BAC are presumed not to be under the influence of alcohol while driving a boat. But while a California boating under the influence arrest does not give rise to an automatic suspension of one's driver's license by the California DMV, as with DUI, it could lead to similar penalties of county jail time, fines, and alcohol education classes. A California boating safety course may or may not be additionally required. Our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers also point out that a BUI conviction will count as a "prior DUI" if the defendant is arrested for DUI within ten years, thereby enhancing DUI penalties.
Our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers use many of the same successful strategies to fight a boating under the influence charge as we do with DUI charges. That includes challenging law enforcement's justification for the stop, as well as unreliable breath and/or chemical test results. Furthermore, the physical effects of spending a day out on the water and in the sun often mimic what law enforcement claims are objective signs of intoxication. The bottom line is this. Innocent people are falsely arrested and wrongly accused of California boating under the influence - period. Don't ever assume that you can't fight your boating under the influence charge, because that simply isn't the case.