COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Georgia State and local law enforcement reminds everyone before the extended Memorial Day Holiday weekend, to put safety first on the road and water.
The Georgia State Patrol and Governor’s Office of Highway Safety asks everyone to wear their seat belt, and make sure children under eight years of age are riding in an approved child passenger safety seats.
Georgia is participating in the national “Click It or Ticket” seat belt awareness campaign that ends June 4th. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Game Wardens will provide boating and safety information with many Georgians this weekend, to have their first outing of the year on a lake or river.
Just as seat belts save lives on the road, a properly worn life jacket saves lives on the water. DNR Game Wardens will provide boat rides for media outlets after the news conference.
Preliminary crash data shows the number of people who have been killed in traffic crashes in Georgia during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, has doubled over a five-year period from seven traffic deaths in the 2018 Memorial Day holiday weekend, to 15 people killed in traffic crashes during the 2022 Memorial Day holiday weekend.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 56 percent of the people killed in traffic crashes in the state in 2021 were not wearing seat belts. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Game Wardens investigated 23 boating fatalities, and responded to 57 drownings in 2022.
Game Wardens also made 287 arrests for boating under the Influence (BUI) last year, which is a 55 percent increase from the 185 BUI arrests made in 2018. The Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit in Georgia for motor vehicle drivers and boat and personal watercraft operators is .08.
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