Michael A Haber PA Criminal DUI Defense Litigation Miami Blog

Skipper Arrested for BUI after his Boat, Loaded w/ Passengers, Crashes into Channel Marker off Venetian Causeway

Miami is one of the World's premier boating capitals.  I know because I've lived here for almost fifty (50) years and have been boating these waterways for forty (40+) plus of them.  

(Those are the "Christo Islands"... an artistic project which effected Biscayne Bay and garnished global acclaim from 1980-1983)

Suffice it to say that things have changed, dramatically over the years since I was a kid enjoying these waterways.  Back then, even as "tweens", my contemporaries and I had run of the bay, skiing, hydrosliding, tubing, frogging, fishing, swimming and generally enjoying Biscayne Bay, and even the Atlantic, and our folks had no (well, maybe not "no", but surely "few") worries.   But, like everything else, things change over time, and, just as kids can no longer walk to and from school, or to and from the local park or even play ball in the streets (for fear of child abduction or other victimization AND fear of DCF being called on "bad" neglectful / abusive parents) so too have the waterways become a potential disaster waiting to happen.

including, in the case of the what happen on Saturday, January 24th, 2015 at about 8:30 pm off the Venetian Causeway, loading a nineteen (19) foot boat with nine (9) people aged 18-24, drinking (who knows how much for who knows how long) and crashing into a wood piling / channel marker.

(That is NOT the boat in question, its just an illustration.)  

In this case the cops (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission) blame the accident on booze, arresting the skipper for BUI (Boating Under the Influence).  Although one (1) female passenger was transported to the hospital, amazingly no one was killed, or even ejected from the vessel, especially as the FFWC officers determined that none of the five (5) women on board were wearing life jackets.

While "no wake", "manatee" zones and other restrictions have been put in place, and while marine law enforcement has definitely been ramped up over the years (the police presence is much higher), they simply cannot effectively either serve or protect (i.e. "police") the waterways.  There are simply too many - A LOT - of boats on the local waterways, and many of them are extremely powerful (over-powered even).  Moreover, many of the skippers are untrained and reckless, and many drink and operate their vessels while impaired,  Add to that the reality that about 1 in 50 (that's an estimation and not a fact) channel markers in the 305 are NOT lighted and, especially at night, you have a recipe for disaster.  

Florida's BUI Statute is found at F.S. 327.35.  It is essentially the same as the DUI statute but there are a few differences.  For one thing, unlike a car (which requires "probable cause" to conduct a "stop") there is no 4th Amendment issue relative to the cops "stopping" or "detaining" a vessel. Secondly, and as mentioned, you do not have to have a license of any sort to operate a vessel in Florida, so a BUI will not effect either your ability to drive a car or your driving privilege / license. There are others differences (such as "FST's" or sobriety tests and community service upon conviction) but the inapplicability of the 4th and the lack of license penalties are the biggies.  

When it comes to the subject of drinking and BOATING, the best advice that you are ever going to hear is:  "Don't do it!  Get a DD (Designated Driver), not a BUI".

Be smart: Don't drink and BOAT, but, if you do, just say "NO{thing}", don't blow (in FL your 2nd subsequent refusal is a crime) and call me stat at 305-381-8686, 305-798-2220, 1-888-SHARK-8-1.

Michael A. Haber, P.A.: Providing creative, effective and zealous criminal defense litigation services primarily in SoFlo since 1991.

At Michael A. Haber, P.A. "Its all about reasonable doubt"!