Alcohol-Related Boating Deaths on the Rise

The Hartford Courant reports that the number of Connecticut boating deaths involving alcohol increased nearly fourfold in the latter half of the last decade.  While there were six alcohol-related boating deaths in Connecticut from 2001 to 2005, there were 22 from 2006 to 2010, according to state and U.S. Coast Guard data.  State officials say they have increased enforcement of the state’s boating under the influence laws in recent years, but their enforcement efforts are strained by a cut in staff.  While the number of boating accidents that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) investigates each year increased from 56 in 2006 to 84 in 2010, staffing of DEEP’s Environmental Conservation Police dropped from 63 officers a decade ago to 50 last year.  The data also shows that when alcohol was a factor, none of the victims were wearing life preservers.