Tuesday, December 22, 2015

What are the Consequences of Driving a Boat under the Influence

Operating any type of vehicle while you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be dangerous. Therefore, every state including Tennessee has enacted drunk boating laws as well and Ripley, TN DUI lawyers know boat cases like they do car ones. Such offenses are termed DUI or driving under the influence, or BUI meaning boating under the influence. There are laws designed to make BUI a criminal offense, although like DUI, these laws vary from state to state.

Alcohol or drugs

BUI happens when you operate a watercraft such as a jet-ski or speedboat while under the influence of any intoxicant such as alcohol or drugs. When it comes to BUI charges, “drugs” signify legal as well as illegal substances, such as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, or cocaine or marijuana, as these impair your capability to operate a watercraft.




Intoxication

You may be penalized for a BUI, even when you don’t feel impaired, intoxicated, or drunk. You may be convicted if your BAC or blood alcohol level exceeds the stipulated legal limit of .08% for alcohol or a specific microgram limit per liter of blood in the case of drugged driving.

You may also be criminalized if any legal or illegal drug is in your possession that can impair your capability to operate a watercraft. Besides, if you happen to have a BAC that is lower than the specified legal limit, you may still be taken into custody and convicted of a BUI, if you are in no position to operate a boat as you are impaired. A Tennessee DUI attorney can explain the finer aspects of this law in detail but hopefully you do not ever need one but if you do, there is a quick way to find one. You can do that by utilizing this website: http://dui-lawyers.usattorneys.com/tennessee.

Severity of charges

BUI may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony crime. The latter is considered more severe than misdemeanors, involving larger fines as well as prison sentences, especially when it leads to someone's injury or even death. A misdemeanor BUI conviction will entail jail time up to a year in jail, but there can be lesser sentences too. On the other hand, felony convictions entail more than one year in prison. BUI charges can also lead to fines up to $1,000 in misdemeanor cases, or $25,000 or more in felony offenses.

Legalists are sticklers to the law which is the opposite or moral relativists. But America is a nation of laws and most people, unless your name is Hillary, must abide by them. Legalists have no problem with these hard and fast laws and most people in America do not either. 

Probation is also possible in BUI cases and your Ripley, TN DUI lawyer can help you achieve this. However, the person must comply with specific conditions during the period, including periodic reporting to probation officers, submitting to alcohol and drug tests, committing no further crimes, as well as doing community service. Any person convicted of BUI can face suspended boating privileges for periods ranging from 30 to 90 days, or even longer.


A BUI charge isn’t something you can face on your own, without legal counsel from a fine Tennessee DUI lawyer who is well versed in the applicable state laws as well as with the police, area courts, and prosecutors. BUI charges can entail the same serious consequences as DUI, although it might not seem so. So if you are in any way involved in boating under the influence, you ought to hire legal help as soon as possible.

Sometimes life throws you a curveball. Curveballs can be hard to hit but if you keep your eye on the ball and show some patience you can hit it solidly. That is exactly what you should do if you receive a DUI ticket. Click on the link above and find that legal help. That is how you keep your eye on the ball when you are in a DUI situation. And you with that legal help, you may not be able to hit these charges out of the park but you can possibly foul off a few and deal with the called strikes. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts