The summer season in the metropolitan area is bound to record the arrival of thousands of residents to avoid the heat in the city and go north to have fun in the water at Lake Lanier. Alcohol consumption, jet skiing, and relaxing on the lake are usually accompanied by alcohol drinking and most people work under the damaging illusion that drinking on a boat is handled way lighter by the law enforcement than drinking on the steering wheel of a car. They believe that a BUI arrest is just a specialized ticket that will not affect their lives and their capacity to get to work every day. Nonetheless, the truth about Georgia law is that, BUI is a critical criminal misdemeanor and possesses dire, covert consequences, which are akin to a classic roadside arrest. When a weekend on the water becomes a criminal offense, there is certainly a necessity to have an experienced Atlanta DUI Lawyer to ensure that the event does not destroy your permanent record and future.

The legislation which regulates boating under the influence in Georgia can be traced to O.C.G.A. Section 52-7-12 and nearly functions on the same principle as the rest of the state driving under the influence laws. Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs to the degree of lower safety whilst operating any vessel, watercraft, or personal flotation device is prohibited too do so, or when the individual has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or more. But the application of this legislation to the water is incomparably different to its application to an interstate. Police must have a reasonable and articulable suspicion of a road offense, such as weaving or over speeding, to get a stop. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has the power, on Lake Lanier to stop any vessel at any given time to conduct routine checks on the safety equipment. It also implies that officers are not required to have any indication of violent driving to pull your boat over and this gives them an exceedingly low standard to begin BUI investigation.

The moment a DNR officer enters a vessel, he is conducting a checkup on the safety of the vessel, he is instantly searching to find evidence of impairment like odor of alcohol, mumbled speech or empty containers. In case they are of the opinion that the operator is intoxicated, they will offer a series of tests referred to as seated battery of field sobriety tests. Hand coordination tests and horizontal gaze nystagmus assessments are done when the operator is seated as it is impossible to administer standard balance tests on the violently rocking boat. The tests that are used in place of these are very subjective and the exposure to the sun, dehydration, engine exhaust and even the natural rocking of the water often termed as fatigue by the boater can very easily present itself as the physical effects of being intoxicated. To counter these narrow, green eye views, the battle knowledge of a professional Atlanta DUI Attorney is required that knows how to indict the dependability of marine-based sobriety tests.

The collateral damage caused by a BUI arrest is the most insidious one because it is not violent and it takes place on a person off the water. Although conviction of BUI in Georgia typically does not revoke the boating rights of an individual but instead the regular driving license, the criminal center does not end at the marina. A BUI conviction becomes a part of your lifetime criminal history as an alcohol-related misdemeanor. Once a background check is conducted on the automobile insurance companies and they find such conviction, they always categorize the person as a high-risk driver, which leads to the skyrocketing car insurance rates or outright cancellation of the policy. Moreover, alcohol related conviction in your record may threaten your employment opportunities, a professional license, and corporate background as much as an average traffic related conviction.

The legal issues related to the chemical testing process after BUI arrest are also special. The implied consent laws of Georgia can be applied on the water, just as is the case on the road. In the event of arrest, the police will demand a blood sample or breath. Nevertheless, the logistics of getting a suspect off a boat to a marina, followed by a secondary location or local jail where an Intoxilyser 9000 breath test should be done, may bring a lot of delay and procedural errors. The officers will be required to strictly follow the twenty minutes of observation time and that the testing equipment is well calibrated and not exposed to the severe marine conditions. An elaborate defense would be to subpoena the precise chronicle of the capture and upkeep documents of the testing devices to restrain a false chemical testing outcome being tapped and used against the operator in the court.

When it comes to arresting a lake as a nuisance as opposed to a criminal menace, this is a fatal error that springs so many boaters in the summer. The pressurizing strategies employed by the Department of Natural Resources on Lake Lanier are aimed at acquiring convictions and the criminal record created will haunt you even when the boating season is over. To successfully make a transition between marine policing and ordinary criminal law, it is impossible without specific legal intervention. Any person charged with such should focus on the offensive defense strategy to secure his/her clean record and avoid a recreational outing that may lead to irreversible professional and financial loss.