With summer’s temperatures soaring to their highest of the season, Iowa’s lakes and reservoirs are busy places as Iowans of all ages look to escape the heat. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is reminding boaters to exercise safe boating practices and to have a designated boat operator who abstains from drinking alcohol.
Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR, said the goal is to reduce boating accidents, injuries and fatalities caused by alcohol impaired operators.
“Alcohol reduces reaction time and the ability to make quick sound judgments in an emergency situation. Then, if we factor in the wind and sun and glare off the water combined with the water movement that enhances the effects of alcohol, that leads to a dangerous situation waiting to happen,” Stocker said.