Safety Advocates Say Oklahoma Boating Law Doesn't Go Far Enough

Havonnah Johnson, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Under Oklahoma newest boating law, boat operators are required to maintain a blood alcohol level of .08. Last fourth of July the legal limit for boating and drinking was.10.

Boating safety advocates say boating under the influence isn't the only thing police should be concerned with. According to Oklahoma law, people over the age of 16 do not need formal education on how to drive a boat.

"They think you can just buy a boat and put it on the water and that's not what actually happens. You need some boating education to know how to operate a boat," Linda Sadler of The Oklahoma United States Coastguard Auxiliary said.

Edmond Police at Lake Arcadia increased patrols this holiday, meanwhile the Oklahoma Coastguard is spending this holiday educating people on boat and lake safety.

Linda Sadler's passing out boating safety books because research shows most people don't know how to properly launch or dock a boat, let alone know what to do when it overturns.

Sadler believes this can be a recipe for disaster.

"If you come out for a half hour you'd see five or ten people doing something wrong," Sadler said.

News 9 tested Sadler's theory and police issued three warnings and a citation in less than a half hour.

Police may be doing their jobs, but Sadler says Oklahoma's lawmakers need to make stricter laws to implement better boating safety practices.