'Drunk in charge' confusion

THOUGH a boater has been arrested for being drunk in charge of a narrowboat (Drunk in charge of a boat arrest—NbW 06/08/12) the law is not yet in place.

The Royal Yachting Association objected at the Department of Transport consultation to introduce drink 'driving' laws that was included in the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, and this has not yet been brought into force, Rod Fox tells us.

Difficult to know

The argument was that it would have been difficult for boaters to know whether they were required to comply with the regulations, though it went to pains to point out that it does not condone being drunk in charge of a vessel and stated it encourages boaters to act responsibly as far as drinking is concerned.

The association states that if the Government does implement drink driving laws then they must be clear, sensible and readily understandable.

The article in narrowboatworld concerned a boater who was so drunk that he fell off his boat into the canal by Braunston Marina, climbed back on, but was reported by a member of the public and subsequently arrested for being drunk in charge of a boat.