Georgia boaters had a safe holiday weekend, wardens say

CLARKS HILL LAKE, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Labor Day weekend is known for boating as much as it is traveling along the interstate, so law enforcement boosts patrols on the water too.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources had wardens out all Labor Day weekend keeping boaters and riders safe.

The hard work is paying off.

This Labor Day weekend, the agency saw few to no serious violations across the CSRA and the Peach State.

“I think across the state we only had two BUIs and one boating incident,” said Levi Thompson, a game warden with the agency.

The more time they spend out on the lakes, the more people see the wardens.

Wardens said the most common problems they see are people tubing or jet-skiing without an observer on board.

“We been talking with them all summer for them to understand the things they need to do from the beginning of the summer but they understand by the end of the summer,” Thomson said.

The agency has arrested more than 10 operators for drunk boating.

Wardens are also are making sure kids are safe.

“That’s one thing we need to check: to make sure their life jackets fit properly and their parents are watching them and to make sure we have sober operators pulling these kids around,” Thompson said.

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