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New drunken, drugged boating standards make good sense

We join what we suspect is a significant majority of people in the state of Michigan in applauding new laws addressing what might be described as drunken or drugged boating or snowmobile and ORV riding.

According to stories from The Associated Press, the laws regulating drunken and drugged driving were updated in 2003 with new regulations kicking in now covering sport craft, bringing more uniformity to the limits and penalties even when not in a car.

AP noted the legal alcohol limit while operating snowmobiles, watercraft and off-road vehicles while intoxicated will be lowered to 0.08 percent from 0.10 percent to match the state’s laws for drunken driving on the road.

People under 21, meanwhile, would not be allowed to have alcohol in their system while operating any of these sport craft, and no one would be allowed to operate them with any amount of certain controlled substances in their body.

Some people are going to cry foul, perhaps maintaining that boating or snowmobile and ORV riding are fundamentally different activities than driving on a roadway.

Sorry but we support what state Rep. Dave Pagel, a Republican from Berrien Springs who was one of the sponsors of the new legislation, had to say.

“I think it sends a message that these are family activities and people should practice them safely,” he said.

We agree.

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