Our lifeguards are required to en-
force the city ordinance that makes
it unlawful to have an open contain-
er anywhere including the beach.
immediately contact the Ocean City
Police Department. This infraction
has been recently (June 2012) re-
classified as a criminal of-
fense and may lead to the ar-
rest of the individuals involv-
ed and is sure to rain on any
sunny beach party.
City and on the back of every
lifeguard stand, so really
there is no excuse for not
knowing the law.
with any law, it is the citizens' re-
sponsibility to know the local laws.
ty. I have to say, though, there is
some irony to a 40-year-old beach
patron hiding his beer from an 18-
year-old lifeguard. The fact is that
our guards do see you hiding it and
are going to ask you to take it off the
beach. Trying to cover it up with a
cozy or pour it into a red solo cup is
unacceptable. No alcohol means no
alcohol.
a number of safety issues that arise.
We deal with numbers of heat-relat-
ed illnesses on the beach that are
alcohol related. The fact is that alco-
hol dehydrates you, and having only
a beer or two on a hot day increas-
es the risk of heat-related illness
(the majority of the hundreds of
heat-related incidents on the beach
are alcohol related).
extremely dangerous. Salt water
and alcohol make the worst cocktail,
and we rescue numerous people
every summer who probably would
not have gotten into trouble if they
were not drinking.
make decisions that you probably
wouldn't have made otherwise. This
can lead to serious incidents like
near drownings or neck and back
injuries.
cue him or her. On the open water,
alcohol is very easy to smell on
someone's breath. I tell all my
guards that if they rescue someone
who has been drinking that they
should ask the person to leave the
beach.
Ocean City has its own laws and or-
dinances. The law is specific about
the consumption of alcohol and has
nothing to do with the container it is
ed) although many people wrongly
believe that pouring it in a cup
makes it acceptable, which is not
true.
alcohol to the beach and then at-
tempt to hide the behavior from the
Beach Patrol. This just isn't fair to
the Surf Rescue Technician (life-
sponsible to monitor and en-
force all activities on the
beach as well as in the
water.
ceal their illegal activity from
the Beach Patrol while the
SRT attempts to perform
City laws and ordinances.
protecting people in the water and
pleading with "adults" to follow the
rules.
our more serious incidents over the
years have involved intoxicated
beach patrons who do things after
drinking that they would never do if
sober. The sad fact is, that many
lives have been altered or affected
in a permanent way by alcohol-
related incidents or injuries both in
the water and on the streets, high-
ways and crosswalks of Ocean City.
Not only is the life of the victim of a
paralyzing injury affected, but so is
the rest of that persons family who
are often left caring for that individ-
ual following the injury.
physical ability are diminished and
often lead to the person finding
themselves in trouble in the water
and in need of help. If this occurs
between the hours of 10 a.m. and
5:30 p.m., they will be lucky enough
to be rescued by an SRT, although
following the rescue these individu-
als do not do well and are often
transported to a medical facility for
further evaluation.
swim after the bars close the out-
come is far too often tragic and
ends with a body recovery and a
call to the family of the deceased.
and ordinances of the Town of
Ocean City, but we need your help.
Please do your part and obey the
laws and listen to the SRT and keep
the alcohol off the beach.
in the stand!"
sergeant. He is an assistant principal
at Stephen Decatur High School.)