The attitude in California for vehicular drunk driving (over .08 BAC), is easy to follow. If you operate a vehicle drunk and get in an accident (regardless of who is at fault in the accident) the drunk driver is in the wrong! The accident could not have occurred if he was not behind the wheel. That's precisely how they determine fault. And, largely because of M.A.D.D.'s effort to protect children. The drunk is always in the wrong. If he had not driven, the accident could not have occurred. He began being wrong when he started the car. IF, the boat were stationary with anchor deployed and anchor light lit up and everyone aboard were drunk they would be innocent bystanders. They would indeed be parked. But, that apparently, was not the case. If the drunk is not cited, it shows being drunk and operating a boat is okay. If the skipper is not cited, that tells us, it's okay to let a drunk drive your boat. Remembering of course, the Coast Guard says, the skipper is at all times the responsible person. If there is a posted speed limit and it was exceeded and that person is not cited, it tells us all, it's okay to speed. Without defending anyone I maintain, based upon what I have read, it will be difficult to decide who is to be charged / blamed / cited. There is a case for negligence with all three. In the end, the best hope is 50% of the people agree with the final decision. On 6/12/08, Bob Olson <bobo4u@qwest.net> wrote:
On Jun 12, 2008, at 8:40 PM, Paint4Real@aol.com wrote:
I was then a practicing personal injury attorney
Glad to hear you're in recovery. ;-)
'nough said--Bob O.
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