Impacts of the ‘On the Road, On the Water’ Law Enforcement Campaign on Reckless Boating Incidents

Abstract

Reckless boating behaviors, including operating under the influence, pose significant risks to recreational boaters and a major challenge for law enforcement efforts within fish and wildlife agencies. This study evaluates the effects of North Carolina’s On the Road, On the Water (OTROTW) campaign aimed at reducing incidents of reckless boating on North Carolina water bodies. The campaign emphasized the certainty of receiving a penalty for reckless behaviors by increasing law enforcement presence during key boating periods. We analyzed data from reckless boating interactions (n = 11,927) between law enforcement officers and boat operators from 2019 to 2023, comparing reckless boating rates before and after OTROTW interventions. The analysis focused on interactions within 2 weeks before and after each holiday weekend, with follow-up monitoring across five 2-week intervals. After the intervention, the daily average rate of reckless behaviors declined (P < 0.0001). Specifically, the proportion of reckless behavior interactions dropped from 7% before the OTROTW campaign to 5% after the campaign. The observed impact of OTROTW may be explained using deterrence theory, and the interplay between perceived risk of punishment peaking after interventions and perceived rewards of reckless boating peaking in warmer weather. Following the decline in rates after the Labor Day intervention, reckless boating behavior virtually ceased during the colder months (November through April). These findings highlight the importance of seasonal factors and suggest the potential for future research into the seasonal and deterrence effects of targeted boating safety interventions.