Penalties for boating while intoxicated now are strengthened because they must be linked to prior drinking while driving using other vehicles, according to Tiffany Heitkamp’s Law, signed Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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But under current state law, convictions for driving a vehicle while intoxicated and driving a boat while drunk are considered unrelated offenses. The bill addresses this gap by linking these similar offenses and providing harsher penalties for repeat offenders. “This new law closes this loophole and will help keep these risky individuals off our roads and waterways, avoiding more senseless tragedies”. Heitkamp was killed while traveling in a boat operated by an individual under the influence.
For those facing an 180-day sentence, the look back period will be 10 years. I am very pleased that Governor Cuomo has signed this important bill into law to help improve the safety of our roadways and waterways.
Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the legislation in the Assembly, called it the “Beagle Freedom Bill, ” beagles are popular dogs in many research facilities. I also want to thank Ms. MaryJo Heitkamp-France for her tireless advocacy on behalf this legislation in memory of her daughter.
Heitkamp, a Nottingham High School graduate, was killed in a 2006 accident when the speeding boat she was a passenger in crashed onto Alger Island on Fourth Lake near Old Forge, in the Adirondacks.
Alcohol use in recreational boating – cited most often nationally and in New York State as a contributing factor in fatal crashes – will be dealt with more harshly under a new state law.
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Presently, driving and boating infractions are kept separate, so a boater convicted of operating a vessel while impaired or intoxicated is sentenced under guidelines established just for boating. The individual had prior alcohol-related automobile incidents but could not be labeled a repeat offender after he was charged with his first BWI.
