BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–Sheriff S. Duane Lewis and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office are reminding residents to stay sober and know the laws when operating a boat this Memorial Day weekend.
As the Memorial Day weekend approaches, residents can expect an increase in patrols on the waterways from various agencies.
All the agencies will have one thing in common this weekend: keeping you safe.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office hopes that everyone will have a safe and happy boating season and would like to offer the following boating tips:
- Life vests should always be on hand. There needs to be one life vest per person on the vessel.
- Before heading to the water make sure that your boat is in good working order and has the required safety equipment on board.
- Please make sure that your trailer has proper lighting and safety chains.
- Be courteous of others on the lake and follow the proper counter-clockwise direction of travel when pleasure boating or skiing.
- DO NOT drink and boat. The alcohol that you consume has a greater effect on your ability to operate safely than it does on dry land.
While the sheriff’s office wants to ensure that everyone has a good Memorial Day, deputies say they also want boaters to keep in mind the fundamentals of boat safety.
Although not all accidents can be avoided, there are many that can be prevented by reverting back to the fundamentals of boater’s safety.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office would also like to remind boaters to be cognizance of their surroundings and watch for channel markers, speed zones and be sure to have all necessary safety equipment on board.
“Please be responsible on the waterway. Be sure that you and all occupants possess life vests if you are on a vessel. If alcohol will be consumed on the vessel, be sure that there is a sober person operating the boat. We will be working hard this weekend to keep everyone safe to see another Memorial Day,” Sheriff Duane Lewis.
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