If You're Going to Lake Lanier, Leave the Alcohol at Home

Boating is not synonymous with partying, but there are those who can't see themselves through the wake without a drink in their hand. 

At the lake, there are no traffic lanes, no stop signs and no traffic signals. People crisscross the water at random putting themselves at risk for injury or worse–And that's without alcohol.

Good times on the lake can waterlog your judgement. Whether you imbibe or not, you assume a safety risk when you visit the lake, but when you take a drink in one hand and steer a boat with the other, you're kidding yourself. 

There were over the Fourth of July holiday alone. With these statistics, it hardly matters if alcohol was a factor or not. Large bodies of water are dangerous enough on their own without adding alcohol to the mix.

People often ask the question, "Where do you draw the line when it comes to allowing alcohol on the lake?"

That line was crossed a long time ago by allowing people to bring alcohol to the lake in the first place. But here's one answer to the existing problem–Georgia has lowered its blood alcohol limit to .10 percent. 

For people who aren't sure how much that means they can drink, then here's another answer–Don't drink at all while trying to operate watercraft on the lake.

There aren't many reported cases of children drinking and operating watercraft. Most of the time it's adults. These are the same adults who teach the next generation of children to do the same thing as soon as they are old enough to buy alcohol. Maybe they think of it as a rite of passage, but for many, the ramifications are far-reaching and sometimes life-altering.

There's a reason people often say they are "staying away from the lake," over a holiday weekend. They are quick to point out their fears of rowdy crowds and drunk boaters and jet skiers dominating the waterways. 

Law enforcement can only do so much to catch all the drunk boaters. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, boating under the influence is a main contributing factor in nearly 1 in 5 boating fatalities nationwide. For this reason, Georgia has gotten tougher with enforcing laws against this high-risk behavior.

Next time you're packing the cooler for a day on the boat at Lake Lanier, why not just leave the alcohol at home?

Alcohol has never been proven as the essential ingredient for having a good time, but it has been shown time and again to get people in very deep water when it comes to endangering lives at the lake.