Unless your idea of a good time is spending a night (or more) in jail this Labor Day, Suffolk County officials warned Friday that enforcement of driving and boating while intoxicated laws will be ramped up this holiday weekend.
With the mangled wreckage of the Silver Bullet, the boat West Islip's Christopher Mannino was killed on in an drunk boating crash in June, just yards away, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said sobriety checkpoints will be in place on land and sea.
"As we are about to kick off Labor Day weekend, we want to send a very clear and a very strong message to boaters and to drivers that if you make the decision to drink while driving a motor vehicle or driving a boat, you are putting yourself in jeopardy of this weekend of arrest," Bellone said during a press conference at the Suffolk County Police Department's Marine Bureau in Great River.
The Marine Bureau conducted its first ever BWI checkpoint last weekend, checking 23 vehicles and making two arrests, SCPD Commissioner Edward Webber said.
So far this year, there have been 15 arrests, which is more than 2009, 2010 and 2011 combined, Webber said.
"As the summer ends, we are asking residents to make responsible decisions, he said.
Besides checkpoints, there will also be DWI saturation patrol and an enhanced motorcycle enforcement initiative, both funded by grant money, in place this weekend, officials said.
Three people were at a checkpoint in Huntington Station early Friday morning for DWI and police officials said they will provide the media with the names of those arrested over the weekend.
"Sadly, there will be those who will not heed the county executive's warning," Suffolk County Police Chief of Department James Burke said. "For those of you who do that, you very well may be among the list of people we release to the media on Tuesday and wind up spending your Labor Day in jail."
The other side of the spectrum are those like John K M. who's yet to ask for public hangings, but has come close. No, john, we don't need to give away more freedoms and we don't need to destroy a person because you want tougher laws.. In the long run, they don't work towards a positive. More effective than that suggested is public shunning of those who act like morons. Instead we mistakenly show "compassion", mainly so as not to be bias or opinionated. Perhaps we need to police each other and in the long run, it may be most effective in deminishing dumb behavior.
Too many times those who don't take into account the dangers on the water cause issues with disatrous results to themselves and others. Take a course, take a refresher course... Everyone will benefit. And by all means, know Mother Nature is a fickle beotch that can chew you up and spit you out.. Don't trust her.
You simply can't legislate a society into a utopia, but quite the opposite. The more rights and freedoms you take away, the less we seem to look as the leader of a free society. And who are you giving those freedoms away to? Paid servants of society, elected or otherwise. A few accidents, no matter how egregious does not warrent more laws. Whatever happened to learning from mistakes and history.
"It's okay Constable", I've downed two six-packs in the last hour, but I have a license!" You contradict yourself with both posts...
So let's not destroy a drunk boater's honor, let's wait for him to destroy someone's life instead? Walter, perhaps you should take a step back & think before your fingers start typing...
Like I said - If you're obeying the law, then you should have nothing to worry about. Are you obeying the law, Walter?
Everybody knows that... ...Walter's just a little cranky. He's apparantly more on the "Hey kids! Get off my lawn!" type. "These young punks smoking the rope & riding their pedel-less bicycles with their cherry-bomb mufflers! Why I oughtta!" :)
I don't drink. I haven't had a drink since 1998 and that was champagne at my wedding... Good try though...
As for the radio van, while not there to see, I'm almost certain they were more concerned with larger vehicles that would effect their entering the lane and would consider you're presence one of those "he came out of nowhere" incidents. He was wrong but most certainly didn't anticipate you being there. You need noise? Go buy a louder horn.