Niagara Police Marine stops 38 boats over 3 days with no impaired charges

Niagara | Lincoln | Niagara Falls | Niagara on the Lake | St Catharines | Crime | Police |

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Published July 4, 2023 at 1:43 pm

To be sure, there were a couple of alcohol-related charges but after the Niagara Police Marine Unit stopped 38 boats over three days of patrolling, there was not one impaired driving charge.

The Marine Unit partnered with the Traffic Enforcement Unit between July 1 and July 3 to target impaired driving of boats on Lake Ontario, the upper and lower Niagara River and Lake Erie.

While 38 boats were stopped by the officers, only one boat operator was asked for a breath sample and in the end, he was fine. As such, the police reported there were no driver’s licence suspensions or arrests.

However, officers did issue 20 infraction tickets and documented warnings, notably for violations under Canada Shipping Act for boats that had crossed the border waters with restricted items.

As well, two notices were issued related to Liquor Licence Act offences. Boats are not allowed to have open containers of alcohol in the exact same way cars are not.

Niagara Police warn that arrests and convictions for alcohol related offences on the water (e.g., impaired operation of a vessel) will impact your land-based driving as drivers will be subject to the same suspensions and penalties upon conviction.

 

 

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