As Memorial Day weekend draws near and Georgians gear up for the unofficial start of summer festivities, law enforcement agencies are beefing up safety measures both on the roads and waterways. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, several agencies including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, and Georgia State Patrol have converged with a unifying message urging the public to practice safety to prevent accidents and fatalities.
Over at Lake Lanier, Georgia's game wardens like Cody Tanner are preparing to patrol the waters ensuring that boaters and swimmers stay within the ambit of safety regulations, "It's a lot of fun being out here, but you have to respect the water and what it can do to you," Tanner emphasized in a statement obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta; last year there were 53 drownings and 20 boating-related deaths in Georgia, a sobering statistic that wardens like Tanner are striving to reduce with the increase in patrols and checks on the lakes. Tanner shared that he constantly reminds parents of the need for lifejackets, "I try to tell parents every day that they need to keep their kids in lifejackets no matter how much they're throwing a fit," underscoring the crucial role lifejackets play in water safety.
In addition to efforts on water, Georgia State Patrol and other agencies are set to ramp up road enforcement to address the expected surge of over one-million Georgians hitting the road for the holiday weekend, after last year, 16 people died in car crashes during the same period with many not wearing seat belts, Colonel William W. Hitchens of the Georgia Department of Public Safety stated, "We'll focus on speeding, aggressive driving, improper lane change, following too close and one of the things we'll be looking at importantly is the DUIs."
Meanwhile, 11Alive reports that Colonel Mike England from the DNR highlighted the spike in drownings and issued a grim reminder, "Unfortunately, we have drownings every year, and we’ve already had drownings this year; the main thing is to understand what you are capable of; if you're not a good swimmer, then you need to put a live jacket on or not go out in the water that’s over your head," while law enforcement will observe a strict no-tolerance policy for boating violations as well as impaired boating. Both agencies stressed adherence to laws like the 100-foot and 200-foot wave rule and the indispensable need to have enough lifejackets on each vessel.
