Can You Get a DUI on a Boat in South Carolina?

Drive a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and you may face drunk driving charges. But is the same true for a boat? Can you get a DUI on a boat in South Carolina?

Shealey Law Firm explains boating under the influence laws in South Carolina.

Can You Get a DUI on a Boat in South Carolina?

You can get a boating under the influence charge in South Carolina, but the charge is slightly different than DUI. Drunk operation of a boat is a different criminal charge than drunk driving of a motor vehicle. If you are accused of operating a boat under the influence, you will be charged with BUI.

BUI – Boating Under the Influence in South Carolina

  • You can get a boating under the influence (BUI) charge if you operate a boat while intoxicated.
  • You won’t be charged under South Carolina drunk driving laws for motor vehicles. You’ll be charged under South Carolina drunk boating laws.
  • If you get a BUI on a boat in South Carolina, you face significant penalties that may include jail time.
  • You have the right to fight the charges against you, including taking your case to trial.
  • Just like drunk driving implied consent laws, there are implied consent laws for boating. If you refuse to take an alcohol test when law enforcement suspects you of drunk boating, your privilege to operate a boat will be suspended. You have the right to an administrative hearing.

At Shealey Law Firm, our lawyers represent people who have been charged with drunk operation of a boat. Contact us today about your case.

What is the South Carolina Law for BUI?

S.C. Code § 50-21-112 is the boating under the influence (BUI) law in South Carolina. The law prohibits operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of alcohol, drugs, or other substances when the operator’s faculties are materially and appreciably impaired.

SC Drunk Boating Law

To be in violation of South Carolina’s drunk boating law, you must meet four points:

  1. Operate
  2. A boat – a motorized boat or water device under sail
  3. While under the influence of:
    1. Alcohol
    2. Drugs
    3. Drugs and other substances
    4. Alcohol and other substances
    5. Alcohol, drugs, and other substances
  4. To the extent that your faculties to operate are materially and appreciably impaired.

There is no bodily alcohol content indicating automatic guilt of boating under the influence. The law says that if your bodily alcohol content is .08% or higher, it’s inferred that you were impaired by alcohol. If your bodily alcohol content is .051-.08%, there is no inference. At a bodily alcohol content of .05% or below, there is an inference that the person was not under the influence.

For the purposes of the law, drugs may include any illicit drug.

What Are the Penalties for Drunk Boating in South Carolina?

Penalties for drunk driving a boat in South Carolina include the following:

First offense

  • Misdemeanor
  • $200 fine, or
  • 48 hours to 30 days in jail
  • Six-month suspension of boating privileges
  • Completion of Alcohol and Drug Safety Action and recommended treatment before reinstatement of boating privileges

Community service may be served in lieu of jail, but the court may not require it.

Second offense

  • Misdemeanor
  • $2,000-$5,000 fine, may be suspended to $1,000
  • 48 hours to one (1) year in jail
  • One-year suspension of boating privileges
  • Completion of Alcohol and Drug Safety Action and recommended treatment before reinstatement of boating privileges

The court may require 10 days public service employment instead of jail.

Third offense

  • Misdemeanor
  • $3,500-$6,000 fine
  • 60 days to three (-3) years imprisonment
  • Two-year suspension of boating privileges
  • Completion of Alcohol and Drug Safety Action and recommended treatment before reinstatement of boating privileges

For prior convictions and suspension of boating privileges, the lookback period is 10 years. If your previous conviction is more than 10 years old, it should not count as a prior offense. A conviction at trial, guilty plea, or no contest plea counts as a prior conviction within the lookback period.

S.C. Code § 50-21-113

S.C. Code § 50-21-113 is the South Carolina law for boating while intoxicated causing great bodily injury, death or property damage.

BUI Causing Great Bodily Injury

  • Felony
  • $5,000-$10,000 fine
  • 30 days to 15 years imprisonment
  • Three-year suspension of boating privileges following imprisonment

Great bodily injury is bodily injury carrying substantial risk of death, or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or the protracted loss or impairment of any function of the body or organ.

BUI Causing Death

  • Felony
  • $10,000-$25,000 fine
  • One (1) year to 25 years imprisonment
  • Three-year suspension of boating privileges following imprisonment

BUI Causing Property Damage

  • Misdemeanor
  • $500 or more fine
  • Up to 30 days jail
  • One-year suspension of boating privileges

Get Legal Help

You can get a DUI on a boat – and it can be costly. Shealey Law Firm can defend you. Contact us now for legal help.

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