Boating Safety for the Summer
“I want to ensure everybody comes out here and has a great time. Everybody leaves with their fingers and toes. I want to enforce safety, safety, safety, that’s what I’m always looking out for on the water,” says Deputy Mathew Hipp of the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office Water Safety Division.
Summer season is upon us with that comes with increasing patrols on our local waterways.
Hipp says, “Most people are hunkered down on the sand bars right now. I’d expect a few hundred on the water alone, on each sand bar, depending.”
This summer, officers will be looking for reckless operation that puts the operator and riders at risk.
“Wake and no wake one, bow riding, which is a misdemeanor offense. For the most part here, what I’ve been seeing every time I pull over a vessel and seeing how they’re operating how they’re coming in and following my commands. A lot of time they are not able to follow my commands or whatever the case may be. So I think they may be intoxicated. They have a designated operator who has no boating experience,” said Hipp.
Deputies patrolling are looking for a couple things, one, making sure all the kids in the area are wearing safety vests. They’re also looking for bow riding and of course anyone who is driving a boat under the influence.
“I get them on my boat and sit them right here and I’ll go through the reason for the stop. If I suspect that odor, than I conduct seated battery testing,” Hipp adds.
Other things patrols are looking out for include fire extinguishers on board speeding and navigation rules.
“A big portion of what I do, I don’t always write tickets for everything, but I will educate the public,” says Hipp.
If you have any question regarding your next trip to the lake, Deputy Hipp says, don’t be afraid to ask.
Boat safe, boat sober, also get on the Arizona Gaming and Fishing website and they have a boater safety course you can take and learn a little bit about the water.
for more information go to: https://www.azgfd.com/Boating/
