Drunken boating declines as Ga. wardens boost their efforts
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We have one the of largest lakes in the region right next to us, and people love to go there when the weather gets warm.
With boating at Clarks Hill Lake as popular as ever, game wardens are watching out for boating under the influence.
It’s something they’re really cracking down on with a higher profile on the lake.
“With the increased boat traffic, we really need to increase officer presence, as well,” said Levi Thompson, a warden with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
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And this past weekend, they say it was busy on the water
“There was a good amount of boats out. We had some fireworks at night. So there was much throughout that night at the firework show. During the day, there was a good amount of boats out as well, it seemed like it kept us pretty busy,” warden Chason Brogdon said.
The approach seems to be working.
They’re seeing a decrease in cases of boating under the influence this year.
Last year, there were five cases of boating under the influence at Clarks Hill Lake – for a total of 11 in our region and 34 in the state. That’s compared to four cases of boating under the influence this year at Clarks Hill, nine in our region and 32 in the state.
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This year and last year, no one drowned in our region but across Georgia, two people drowned.
“It just seems like that our presence being out over the past year and being really intentional on the water has driven those numbers down, which is absolutely phenomenal,” Thompson said.
And they say another reason could be they have seen fewer people on the water overall this year compared to previous years
“The guys around here do a really good job about stopping vessels and trying to interact and explain stuff like we’re not here to write a ticket, we’re here to make sure by safe and operate in the way they need to be,” Brogdon said.
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But they have also been encouraging people to take their free boating safety classes and recently placed waterproof cases with safety books at boat ramps around the lake.
“I have noticed that they’ve been empty just about every other weekend,” Thomson said. “So we’ve been restocking those. So that means that the public is grabbing those handbooks when they’re going out on the water.”
To sign up for free boating safety classes, visit https://license.gooutdoorsgeorgia.com/Event/ViewEvent.aspx?id=42195.
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