Oklahoma Boat Safety

For information on free boating safety courses conducted by the OHP Lake Patrol Section, please call (405) 341-8927 or (877) 253-2820 or go to the Oklahoma Boater Education website.

Safety requirements for all boats:

Personal flotation device or PFD (life preserver):

• All boats must carry one wearable USCG-approved PFD for each person on board.
• All passengers 12 years and younger on boats less than 26 feet in length must wear a United States Coast Guard-approved PFD whenever the vessel is underway.
• Life preservers must:
• bear a USCG approval label
• be in good and serviceable condition, and
• must be of suitable size for the intended person, and approved for the activity.

Each person on a personal watercraft, or PWC, or being towed on water skis or other devices, must wear a USCG-approved PFD at all times. Ski belts are not approved PFDs.

All vessels using flammable liquid as fuel are required to have at least one type B fire extinguisher on board.

No person under 12 years of age may operate or be permitted to operate a boat or a personal watercraft with more than 10 horsepower unless accompanied by another person 16 years of age or older.

Alcohol and boating:

The effect of alcohol is magnified by natural stressors that are placed on your body while boating. Dehydration combined with exposure to sun, wind and waves magnify the effect of alcohol. Research has shown that approximately one-third the amount of alcohol needed to reach a state of legal intoxiation (.10% BAC in a vessel), will cause symptoms of intoxication equal to a blood-alcohol level far exceeding the true measurable level. Symptoms include:

• poor coordination
• delayed reaction time
• difficulty in multi-tasking, and
• inattention.

If you drink while boating, designate a non-drinking boat operator just as you would designate a non-drinking driver.

Right-of-way:

There are right-of-way and safe operation laws governing the operation of boatss on the waters of the toll-free 1-877-253-2820.

Vessel operation:

Boats operated during the hours between sunset and sunrise, and during times of restricted visibility shall display navigation lights as required by law.
[See specific lighting requirements.]

Law Offices of Matt Swain

405-501-0827

An Oklahoma City man has been charged in connection with a boating accident on Lake Eufaula in September that killed one man and injured six others.  Aaron Lynn Jones, 24 of Oklahoma City is charged in McIntosh county District Court with first degree manslaughter.  Authorities Claim Jones was drunk when the boat he was driving hit another boat carrying Greg Scheff during the Labor Day Weekend.

Scherff, 38 of Oklahoma city, died of injuries suffered during the accident & six other people were injured.  Jone is currently out of jail on bail, if convicted he faces a penalty ranging from four years to life in prison.

Jones told investigators he didn’t realize the boat Scherff was in had stopped when he hit it from behind and slid over its side.  He said that he had only had two beers to drink at a beach called the cut before the accident.  Witnesses claim he had more than six beers.

The legal blood alcohol concentration limit for boat drivers is .10 percent in Oklahoma.  For motorvehicles on land, the legal limit is .08 percent.

Law Offices of Matt Swain

405-501-0827