(Des Moines)– A bill that would hold boaters to the same standard as motorists when drinking alcohol is moving ahead at the Iowa statehouse.
A house committee has approved the bill, sending it to the full house for final action.
The change was proposed in the wake of a fatal boating accident in 2005 on West Lake Okoboji.
Right now, the alcohol limit for boaters is point-one-oh. Under the bill, it would be lowered to point-oh-eight, the same for motorists.
Last year, officials made 42 arrests for drunken boating. That’s up from 26 arrests in 2004. The number of boating accidents involving alcohol is also on the rise.
(Story from the Associated Press.).
