DELMARVA - The U.S. Coast Guard is readying itself for a busy holiday weekend, and one of the busiest boating weekends of the year.
The Coast Guard is set to increase patrols and work with various law enforcement agencies July 3-5 as a part of Operation Dry Water, a campaign coordinated by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, aimed at enforcing boating under the influence laws.
Since the campaign began in 2009, the campaign has led to the removal of almost 8,000 impaired operators from the water and reached more than 3.3 million boaters through education, the Coast Guard said. Last year, 451 law enforcement agencies from every state and U.S. territory participated.
According to the Coast Guard, alcohol is the leading known contributing factor in recreational boating deaths as operating a boat impaired by alcohol can affect judgement, reaction time, balance and coordination.
For more information about Operation Dry Water, visit the campaign's website.
