With the long Independence Day weekend coming up, boating season in the Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania area is in full swing.  This also means that Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission officers are patrolling local waterways looking for drunken boaters (BUI) and for violations of Pennsylvania's boating regulations.

There are many events planned in Pittsburgh during the holiday weekend, including the annual regatta, a concert Saturday night at Heinz Field and the annual fireworks show Monday evening. The area around Point State Park will be jammed with boats.  Rest assured that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will be out in full force as well.  Please do not let them spoil your fun. If you are going to have your boat on the water this weekend and you plan on drinking, please do not operate your boat.

If you are arrested for BUI, you face mandatory jail time, fines and suspension of your boating license. There is also a push on in Harrisburg to make a BUI the equivalent of a DUI; meaning that if you are arrested for BUI you will face a mandatory suspension of your driver's license, as well as mandatory jail time, fines, etc.

One final thing to consider if you are thinking of drinking and boating this weekend in Pittsburgh, or any other time, is that when the the Fish and Boat officers arrest you for BUI, they usually take you as you are...meaning that if you are a male and you are shirtless, shoeless and wearing nothing but shorts and a life jacket, this is how you will be taken for the chemical testing. I saw this many times when I worked at the Traffic Division and Fish and Boat officers brought in their arrests for the breath test.  Just an extra ounce of humiliation for you, as if getting a BUI is not enough.  Not to mention the fact that you really do not want to go to the Allegheny County Jail wearing just your shorts and your life jacket.