With the May Long Weekend here, many Okanagan residents will be putting their boats in the water for the first time this season. But they’re not the only ones. Police will also be taking to the water to enforce the law.
RCMP will be patrolling in their police boat looking for any impaired boat operators. They will also be ticketing boaters who are speeding too close to the shoreline and under the WR Bennett Bridge.
“ The speed under Okanagan bridge is eight kilometers and we will be out with radar to make sure people are not speeding under that facility for safety reasons,” says Sgt. Wade Seversen with the Kelowna RCMP.
In addition to impaired operators and speeders, police will also be making sure all boats are equipped with the necessary safety equipment such as fire extinguishers and whistles. They will also be making sure that vessels are equipped with enough life jackets for each person on board.
Last summer, there were 70 drowning deaths in BC. More than a dozen of those in the Okanagan.
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