As a result of the raunchy behavior on the lake, a national research group is using the Lake of the Ozarks as part of a field sobriety test study. The study has some serious and far-reaching implications.

The study is spearheaded by the Southern California research institute in Los Angeles, and funded by the United States Coast Guard through a grant.  Once it's complete, it will present a standardized series of field sobriety tests that can aid in boating while intoxicated arrests all over the nation. Several months ago KOMU traveled to Los Angeles to find out just how this research works and why they pay their volunteers $50 each to help with the research.

"Alcohol impacts safety whether it's in a marine environment or on our roads, at a worldwide level," said Dary Fiorentino, an executive officer at SCRI.

The researchers at the institute recruit people to test the sensitivity of field sobriety tests. Put simply, they want to see if one type works or not.

"An ideal test would be able... Uh a sober person would be able to pass and a person at .08 and above would fail," Fiorentino said.

The researchers give their volunteers a scientifically measured amount of alcohol over a 30-minute period of time to get that volunteer's blood alcohol level to exactly .11. Test subjects sit, drinks and watch the clock for 30-minutes.

"Impairment is not so obvious so that's why we are trying to measure cognitive or behavioral performances," said William Cavazza, research associate.

Once the volunteer is good and drunk, the researchers test finger dexterity, eye movement, and other reflexes.  Each test they use is just one of the many they're trying to rule out as not sensitive enough and not good enough to give to law enforcement agencies.

"By giving them tests that have been validated and standardized, that are sensitive to .08... to the effects of alcohol of .08 and above, we would like to give those officers the ability to detect them much better than they would otherwise be able to do so," Fiorentino said.

"When a person is intoxicated, they're visually impaired and there are visual clues that can tell you that," said Cavazza.

When it comes to the real world, outside of the laboratory, particularly boating environments, the research will impact every jurisdiction in the country, from Lake Havasu, to the Lake of the Ozarks, to boating areas along the East Coast.

"The problem is there is a lack of standardization in administration and scoring methods for standardized sobriety tests for the marine environments,the solution is to standardize them and to validate them," said Fiorentino.

Alcohol abuse leads to a lot of problems for all ages, not just health problems.

"Oh in this day in age it's so easy to get alcohol, even if you're not 21, you can go out and get alcohol really easily and get boozed up and hop behind the wheel and do it," said Andres Vital.

"The problem is alcohol is a depressant, so what it does it slows you down," Fiorentino said.

The researchers hope their study convinces everyone, particularly boaters in this case, that just because you're on the water operating a boat doesn't mean you won't harm anyone. They say operating a boat while drunk is as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than driving a car while drunk.

"Statistics are a little bit less refined for marine environments, but anecdotally we know it's a huge problem so that's not just in California, that's not just in Missouri, that's nationwide," said Fiorentino.

Although this research doesn't pay too well, both the researchers and the volunteers say they're happy to make a difference.

"If my drinking can potentially help someone else in the future by somehow comparing tests, then I am okay with that," Andres Vital said.

"If I ever were to be made aware that the work that we do here... Um, has helped save one life, I think it would have all been worth it," said Fiorentino.

The research will take two years to complete. Once it's complete, SCRI will be able to provide three or four specific tests to law enforcement agencies around the country capable of measuring whether or not somebody's impaired.

These tests are designed specifically to test somebody in a seated position. So really, if you think back a couple of months, this series of tests could have been applied to senator Chuck Graham's DWI incident.

This test isn't only about boaters, the institute really does carry a lot of weight. SCRI was the same institute that standardized the field sobriety tests conducted on our nation's roadways. They did that research in the early 90s. When this research is done, expect an increase in prosecution rates for drunk boating arrests.