DUI on the tar DOES NOT equal no boat licence

[netmaker]

well, contrary to popular belief and previous threads on the forum, DUI on the bitumen does not necessarily equate to DUI on the briny. A tax client of mine and someone i have known for 30 odd years, lost his licence a year ago for DUI. As is customary, his boat licence was also cancelled. HOWEVER, he reapplied for his boat licence and was successful. He told me yesterday that initially the customer service officer said no but he requested advice from the manager and was rewarded with a replacement boat licence. Apparently a legal loophole which has not as yet been closed.

[solemandownunder]

Dave, as far as I have understood this rule for some time now.....

DUI on the water....bitumen GONE.....end of story.

BUT....the other way around, you still get to keep ur boat licence.

The reasoning behind this was that DUI on water = equals DUI on land when you go to retrieve the boat at the ramp....or so I have been led to believe over the years.

HOWEVER, I have read of late that DUI on land "MAY" affect & include your boat licence as well.

Maybe this needs to be "tried & proven" even yet ::)

[daveo17]

had the same thing a happen to me when i was 19 (7 years ago) lost the road license kept the marine one

[Shark Poker]

Well that may be good news for someone who made a big mistake but wants to go boating.
But I am not planning on finding out. Hope nobody else is either. Fair Dinkum.
Pauly

[Moonlighter]

Hi Dave

I wonder if it is something to do with what kind of "boat drivers" licence that you have.

Those of us who have been around for a few years probably have the old lifetime speed boat drivers licence. Thats what I have.

More recently the new licence you get after doing the course is a different licence, as I unferstand it.

Maybe the DUI affecting your marine licence could depend on what kind of marine licemce you have.

I have a cousin who works in QT customer service. I will email him and see if he can find out what the deal is, will post if I het an answer.

[daveo17]

should be interesting to hear what he has to say. I was under the impression that the old paper license had been fazed out.

[Horse]

should be interesting to hear what he has to say. I was under the impression that the old paper license had been fazed out.

It has been transferred to a Marine licence. You need to renew it every 5 years with your drivers licence

[CruiserV8100]

Should have no privilege behind the wheel of anything after DUI. Why should you get another go at it on the water. If you have nobody to tow your boat to the ramp and you cant do it yourself due to loss of car licence how is a boat licence of any use to you? A crime shouldn't have a plus side.

[mattooty]

Take the pair of licences off offenders. I've cut innocent victims of DUI related crashes out of cars more times than I care to count, and 90% of em seem to vocally vomit out the same line "It was only a couple of beers, I'm not drunk....are they alright? Why are they bleeding from the head? Why am I being handcuffed?"

[Moonlighter]

OK, got a reply back today from my cousin who works in driver licensing in Qld transport. He has checked it out and says:

Yes the 2 licences are separate, if you are charged on the water you will lose only your boat licence, The opposite applies if you are charged on the road, the only licence you lose is the car /truck licence.

This only would be different if the presiding magistrate ordered that both licences be cancelled, but this is apparently rare since the courts are separate for road & water.

Hope that clarifies the situation.

ML

[Mike Delisser]

Something I thought about last week, maybe some here will have an answer.
I took a couple of young fellas out fishing very early the other morning, on the road they are "P" platers, that means zero alcohol limit "on the road. They were clubbing the night before and had 3 beers, not drunk at all but that's ok because I was towing the boat while they slept.
Anyway on the water we were just trolling for flathead and I had 1 lad drive the boat so I could keep clearing the weed off the lures. He didn't have a boat licence but that's not a prob as I doo and I'm in the boat. At a guess he might have been 0.1 or 0.2. If we were tested on the water what would be the situation?
Does P plater on the road = P plater on the water in regards to alcohol?

[Moonlighter]

It has been transferred to a Marine licence. You need to renew it every 5 years with your drivers licence

Sorry, that's not correct. I have the old speed boat drivers licence, and it is issued for my lifetime. Never expires.

Just checked the MSQ website and it says, referrring to the current Qld recreational marine driving licences:


Queensland's boat licensing application fee for a lifetime recreational marine driver licence is:

$89.80 if you apply at a customer service centre that issues the new licence cards
$43.05 at a customer service centre where new cards are not available yet.
So there is no annual renewal, the current licence you get after completing the training course etc is also a lifetime licence, and is issued under the provisions of the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994.

MSQ also says:

In 2000, Maritime Safety Queensland changed from a paper-based boat licence to a virtual licence. Licence details are recorded in a computerised database which is accessible by on-water enforcement officers such as Water Police and Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol.

So, having your marine licence noted on your car driver's licence just happens for convenience. It is simply helpful to prove you are licenced if you are hiring a boat, using your boat interstate etc. No other reason or need for it to be recorded on your car licence.

Car and marine are two quite separate licences, issued under different legislation.

Unlike your car and truck licences which are different classes of licence that are issued under the same Act and therefore are tied together.

Lots of confusion and urban myths about this stuff. Always best to go to the issuing authorities and find out direct, which is what I've done. Hope this post clears up things for you all.

Cheers

ML

[solemandownunder]

Something I thought about last week, maybe some here will have an answer.
I took a couple of young fellas out fishing very early the other morning, on the road they are "P" platers, that means zero alcohol limit "on the road. They were clubbing the night before and had 3 beers, not drunk at all but that's ok because I was towing the boat while they slept.
Anyway on the water we were just trolling for flathead and I had 1 lad drive the boat so I could keep clearing the weed off the lures. He didn't have a boat licence but that's not a prob as I doo and I'm in the boat. At a guess he might have been 0.1 or 0.2. If we were tested on the water what would be the situation?
Does P plater on the road = P plater on the water in regards to alcohol?

Mike I do NOT have the official or definative answer...however you raise a good point...

To my way of thinking ONLY....ie: IMO....

1st of all, there is NO provisional speedboat/rec licence that I am currently aware of....you either HAVE one, or you dont....REGARDLESS if u are a "P" Plater on land, OR, have NO licence at ALL ::)

2nd and adding to the scenario above, it would seem that if the driver at the time...UNDER instruction/supervision by a licenced person was UNDER the legal limit...then there would be nothing to be concerned about.

& 3rd....IF the person under Instruction/supervision WAS in fact over the legal 0.05 limit....THEN, the very Instructor/supervisor would be at fault as WELL as the operator of the vessel at the time....as happens on bitumen.

As I say.....I am only conveying MY way of thinking on this issue...would be keen to see any other comment on this.

Cheers, Ray.

[Moonlighter]

The P plate status would only apply to the car licence. As mentioned in my earlier post, marine licences and car licences are completely separate licences, issued under different legislation, so my interpretation would be that there is no way the P status would carry over to the marine situation. Would be pretty certain about that.

In the circumstances that Mike mentioned, IMO, I think the licenced skipper could find himself in a bit of hot water if they were aware the person that they allowed to control the boat was DUI. Plus the DUI driver would be in very hot water.

That's if they were 0.1 as he suggested. I think maybe he meant 0.01? If you were 0.1 you would be double the legal limit of 0.05%. Youd have the wobbly boots on, for sure!

[Mike Delisser]

That's if they were 0.1 as he suggested. I think maybe he meant 0.01? If you were 0.1 you would be double the legal limit of 0.05%. Youd have the wobbly boots on, for sure!

Opps! Yeh sorry, of course I meant to say around 0.01 to 0.02 ie. 3 beers the night before. At about $12 a beer an apprentice can only afford 2 or 3 beers.

[The-easyrider]

Not sure about the person under instruction but I would assume that they would need to have a zero BAL, but the rule for the instructor is that they need to be in a position that allows them to immediately take over the controls if required. If you got a picky copper he could ping you on that.
Cheers
Azza

[Dignity]

Something I thought about last week, maybe some here will have an answer.
I took a couple of young fellas out fishing very early the other morning, on the road they are "P" platers, that means zero alcohol limit "on the road. They were clubbing the night before and had 3 beers, not drunk at all but that's ok because I was towing the boat while they slept.
Anyway on the water we were just trolling for flathead and I had 1 lad drive the boat so I could keep clearing the weed off the lures. He didn't have a boat licence but that's not a prob as I doo and I'm in the boat. At a guess he might have been 0.1 or 0.2. If we were tested on the water what would be the situation?
Does P plater on the road = P plater on the water in regards to alcohol?

Mike, after 3 beers the night before they would not even had registered. I often visit a mate at Maroochydore and drink probably 5 or 6 schooners of heavy beer between 4pm and 11pm and regularly get pinged at Alex heads on the way home at 8am in the morning. I ask what the reading is and I have been shown that it was zero.