Alcohol limits for non-professional mariners

[carlt]

All of whom were already breaking existing laws.

 

They should try enforcing the laws that already exist before coming up with new ones that are too broad brush and which impinge upon peoples lives where it isn't necessary.

So following your argument to its logical conclusion, drink driving is ok. Once the greater crimes of, for example assault through road rage, death through dangerous driving, among others, are broken, someone is hurt so the law should act.

[Hairy-Neil]

..... in Ozz you would have to wear a helmet, seatbelts, lifejackets

 

 

That is the way with work boats in the UK, and the crews on BW's Historic fleet all wear lifejackets, just as the working boatmen did in the good old days......

[Machpoint005]

So what happens to the dinner party onboard, or even the barbie on the canal side, where numerous nectars are inbibed and you step onboard to offload some ballast - could that be a chargeable offense?

 

No - if you are moored up you are specifically not covered by the proposals. It's in the consultation document.

 

So moor up and sup up!

[Sir Nibble]

So following your argument to its logical conclusion, drink driving is ok. Once the greater crimes of, for example assault through road rage, death through dangerous driving, among others, are broken, someone is hurt so the law should act.

 

I take your point Carl, but we're not talking 81mg /100ml here are we. No one objects to preventing people careering around the waterways falling over drunk, (although it can never be an excuse for the behaviour you describe) but the idea that if you are too impaired through drink to drive around at 70mph on crowded roads, then you are too impaired to chug down a canal at 4mph waving to the occasional boat you meet, is foolish, misguided and just plain wrong.

[carlt]

I take your point Carl, but we're not talking 81mg /100ml here are we. No one objects to preventing people careering around the waterways falling over drunk, (although it can never be an excuse for the behaviour you describe) but the idea that if you are too impaired through drink to drive around at 70mph on crowded roads, then you are too impaired to chug down a canal at 4mph waving to the occasional boat you meet, is foolish, misguided and just plain wrong.

I agree entirely, I also agree with Dave (mayalld) the usual knee-jerk reaction from the govt. has meant that legislation is likely which will not only affect the quiet enjoyment of the boatowner/hirer but also, potentially, the livelihoods of the respectable hire boat companies (I distinguish these from the companies who target hen/stag groups with their marketing/boat layouts and offer no control, or responsibility for those groups' behaviour).

 

I have no problem with a couple of beers whilst under way, why else have a trad boat? But there is a problem with excessive drinking and this legislation will not address it, because the the hang 'em and flog 'em brigade (sorry Dave) think it's as flawed as the wishy washy liberal gang do. No confidence in a law means there'll be no effective enforcement.

[CJT]

It seems fairly clear to me that this is a govenment reaction to the rumours that M. Nicolas Sarkozy has booked a boating holiday in the UK.

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1uxb0JHqzlA

 

"ish"!!

Chris

[5thHorseman]

The problem with this proposed legislation is that the vast majority of people are sensible and understand the risks.

 

70mph+car+crowded roads+cyclists+pedestrians+81mg/ml alcohol = very high risk to everyone around you

4mph+boat+uncluttered canals+81mg/ml alcohol = almost nil risk to anyone.

 

The unsaid thought in everyone's mind, I would suggest, is "who is the marine official going to choose to stop?"

 

12 tanked up lads/lasses on on a stag cruise or a middle aged couple who have had a pleasant lunch and had the equivalent of a couple of pints.

I am not brave, so I know which one I would go for to meet my targets and prove my worth to my paymasters.

 

There is the rub, this law will prove itself by the "disgraceful" number of people caught over the limit on the cut, but will it make it more safe, pleasant, enjoyable and relaxing, I doubt it.

 

The difficulty with canals from the legislators point of view is that there is simply not enough regulation and they have a this haunting feeling that someone, somewhere might, just might, be happy

 

 

5th

[mayalld]

The problem with this proposed legislation is that the vast majority of people are sensible and understand the risks.

 

70mph+car+crowded roads+cyclists+pedestrians+81mg/ml alcohol = very high risk to everyone around you

4mph+boat+uncluttered canals+81mg/ml alcohol = almost nil risk to anyone.

 

The unsaid thought in everyone's mind, I would suggest, is "who is the marine official going to choose to stop?"

 

12 tanked up lads/lasses on on a stag cruise or a middle aged couple who have had a pleasant lunch and had the equivalent of a couple of pints.

I am not brave, so I know which one I would go for to meet my targets and prove my worth to my paymasters.

 

Very nicely put!

[fuzzyduck]

Tell you what tho..

 

Forum member "drunkensailor" will have to change his log on name, otherwise the old bill will be round to kick his door in at 2am for "confessing to a crime on that thar interporn"

[seaandland]

2 fingers up to the rule from me, 8/10 boat users on a sunny day prefer booze than coffee, that includes me.

[Sir Nibble]

Let's have a demo! Thousands of boaters with placards in Trafalgar square, pissed.

[Nobber]

An' pink eflunts!

[Supermalc]

Being as how my boat is not a 'penis extension' I don't have a problem.

 

Once again the answer is simple........buy a shorter boat......problem solved.

[dor]

And just to cheer you all up even further, the UK government is considering reducing the alcohol limit for driving from 80mg to 50 mg. That just about means a sniff of a shandy across a crowded room. If the maritime legislation follows suit, as suggested, then it really is going to cramp your style.

[carlt]

And just to cheer you all up even further, the UK government is considering reducing the alcohol limit for driving from 80mg to 50 mg. That just about means a sniff of a shandy across a crowded room. If the maritime legislation follows suit, as suggested, then it really is going to cramp your style.

assuming your 'style' is dependent on the quantity of alcohol you consume.

[AlanH]

It is surprising to me that so many people need to take a mind altering drug whilst boating on the cut. For me the views, the leisurely pace, the wildlife and the general bonhomie are enough. Why on earth would a person want to experience this through an alcoholic haze?

I would suggest that if you need to take alcohol to enhance the experience then you have a problem.

[Sir Nibble]

It is surprising to me that so many people need to take a mind altering drug whilst boating on the cut. For me the views, the leisurely pace, the wildlife and the general bonhomie are enough. Why on earth would a person want to experience this through an alcoholic haze?

I would suggest that if you need to take alcohol to enhance the experience then you have a problem.

 

Sorry, irrelevant. If you need a cigarette you have a problem, if you take a tv with you you have a problem, if you would like to eat out you have a problem. This is not about having a drink problem, or experiencing your boating through an alcaholic haze; this is about becoming a criminal by having two measly pints of ale with your lunch.

[Hairy-Neil]

I would suggest that if you need to take alcohol to enhance the experience then you have a problem.

 

Perhaps for some of us the boating is just another facet of the escapism.......

[grunders]

How much is 80mg/100ml alcohol content of blood in terms of pints of beer etc.?

[Sir Nibble]

How much is 80mg/100ml alcohol content of blood in terms of pints of beer etc.?

As the anti drink driving posters say...

"You can't calculate your alcohol limit, so don't try".

But roughly speaking, a pint of beer or two glasses of wine you SHOULD be under, another pint or a glass of wine you are PROBABLY over.

Tcho! criminal eh?

[Bones]

As the anti drink driving posters say...

"You can't calculate your alcohol limit, so don't try".

But roughly speaking, a pint of beer or two glasses of wine you SHOULD be under, another pint or a glass of wine you are PROBABLY over.

Tcho! criminal eh?

 

I persume they will start telling us we can't walk and be drunk at this rate - most people probably walk faster than a boat anyway. I realise that being in charge of an engine is probably the point here, but have you seen some of those ladies incharge of their handbags after a bevvy or too - and some of those drunken male fists seem to be more powerful than my boat on a good day!

 

I wouldn't want to be drunk in charge of a boat, it is too easy to drown (which I am told is not a good thing to embark upon if being around for the following day is something one hopes to do).

 

Edited June 15, 2007 by Bones

[AlanH]

Sorry, irrelevant. If you need a cigarette you have a problem, if you take a tv with you you have a problem, if you would like to eat out you have a problem. This is not about having a drink problem, or experiencing your boating through an alcaholic haze; this is about becoming a criminal by having two measly pints of ale with your lunch.

 

As far as I am concerned if you regard two pints at lunchtime as 'measly' then you must be a hardened drinker. I certainly wouldn't consider doing anything other than sleeping after drinking that much during the day. How does drinking enhance the boating experience?

 

I'm not supporting this legislation as it is unenforceable but having been rammed by a drunken boater in the past I would like to see less drinking on the cut.

[grunders]

As the anti drink driving posters say...

"You can't calculate your alcohol limit, so don't try".

But roughly speaking, a pint of beer or two glasses of wine you SHOULD be under, another pint or a glass of wine you are PROBABLY over.

Tcho! criminal eh?

 

Doesn't sound too arduous to me

[carlt]

As far as I am concerned if you regard two pints at lunchtime as 'measly' then you must be a hardened drinker. I certainly wouldn't consider doing anything other than sleeping after drinking that much during the day. How does drinking enhance the boating experience?

 

I'm not supporting this legislation as it is unenforceable but having been rammed by a drunken boater in the past I would like to see less drinking on the cut.

I don't drink, other than special occasions or maybe a couple of pints over a pub lunch halfway through the day's boating. Now I find out I'm a 'hardened drinker'!

 

Drinking in moderation is a pleasant past time and enhances many experiences.

 

Your 'holier than thou' attitude condemns the vast majority of the adult population as alcoholics! Pubs do a roaring trade at lunchtime, not because they are full of jakeys who have run out of meths, but because most people don't think like you.

 

Just because your constitution can't cope with a little light refreshment at lunchtime, don't condemn everybody else.

[AlanH]

I don't drink, other than special occasions or maybe a couple of pints over a pub lunch halfway through the day's boating. Now I find out I'm a 'hardened drinker'!

 

Drinking in moderation is a pleasant past time and enhances many experiences.

 

Your 'holier than thou' attitude condemns the vast majority of the adult population as alcoholics! Pubs do a roaring trade at lunchtime, not because they are full of jakeys who have run out of meths, but because most people don't think like you.

 

Just because your constitution can't cope with a little light refreshment at lunchtime, don't condemn everybody else.

 

If you are claiming that two pints at lunchtime will have no effect on your judgement or boat handling skills then you are mistaken. I wasn't condemming anyone but merely pointing out that it is a bit sad to need a mind altering drug to enjoy oneself.