Driving and boating seems like two completely different activities. Most people drive to get places – work, school, the grocery store. Boating, however, is often an entirely recreational activity most often associated with sunny, lazy weekend afternoons.

But in the eyes of the law, drinking and boating are often looked at just as severely as drinking and driving. In fact, all 50 states have “boating under the influence” laws on the books. Each state has its own specific laws, but violations generally carry hefty fines and prison sentences. In some states, a boating-while-intoxicated charge can be put on your automobile driving record, affecting car insurance rates. As of early 2005, according to the group, Boaters Against Drunk Driving, or BADD, 34 states have passed laws establishing a .08 blood-alcohol limit – the same limit on the law for most drivers of automobiles. For those under 21, some states have instituted a zero-tolerance policy, which means that having even one drink while operating a boat can get a young person arrested.

According to the National Naval Safety Center, an average of 700 recreational boaters die on American waterways every year, and 7,000 more are injured annually. And many of the fatalities are attributed to drinking alcohol. Boating fatalities involving alcohol use also rose to 39 percent in 2002 from 34 percent the year before, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. According to the Coast Guard, alcohol-related boating fatalities increase every year, and those operating a boat with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 10 percent are about 10 times more likely to be killed in a boating accident.

Government officials and public-health experts offer the following reasons for leaving the alcohol on shore the next time you’re operating a watercraft:

Balancing Ability: One serving of alcohol – a shot of liquor, glass of wine or can of beer – impairs one’s ability to balance and increases the chances of a boater falling overboard. Plus, if the boater does fall overboard, alcohol makes it harder to swim to the surface for a rescue.

Reaction Time: Just as alcohol slows the reaction time of a driver in a car, the reaction time of someone steering a boat is slowed by alcohol as well. In general, alcohol makes it more difficult to avoid hazards in the water, including other boats.

Judgment: Alcohol prevents a person from making good decisions – not just decisions about guiding the boat through the waters, but those dealing with other people on the boat. Authorities note that dangerous, daredevil behavior on the water is more common among those impaired by alcohol.

Vision: Alcohol decreases one’s range of sight and focal ability. It makes it harder to see objects at night and more difficult to gauge their distance.

All those laws must mean something. Although there are 80 million boaters in North America, the accidental death of just one person because of the inappropriate and illegal use of alcohol is far too many.