BELEWS CREEK, N.C. — It's a trend we've seen in past years. North Carolina's Wildlife Resources Commission said they wrote over 1,000 citations for safety violations on the water last year during the 4th of July weekend.
WFMY News 2's Nixon Norman spoke with a boater who lost someone from operating a boat while impaired years ago.
They, as well as the Wildlife Resources Commission, urge folks to play it safe this weekend while hitting the water.
Autumn Hollifield and her husband take their boat out to lakes in the Triad fairly often, especially Belew's Lake.
"We got the boat when our girls were 4 and 5-years-old and they're fifteen and sixteen now," Hollifield said.
Her family takes the boat out for holidays like the Fourth of July as well as for birthday celebrations.
While taking the boat out reminds Hollifield of celebrations and having a good time, it's also a reminder of something that happened to some friends of hers as a senior in high school.
"I had a few friends in high school who would come out and two of them drowned out here," Hollifield said.
It's an incident that's stuck with her throughout the years.
"They were boating, there was a group of them, it was his father's boat, and they were drinking. He [her friend] wasn't driving the boat but he drowned. It was late at night and they were out after drinking all day out on the boat," Hollifield said.
Her biggest piece of advice: to simply not drink while out on the water.
"Do it when you're docked. When you go to someone's house, when you're docked for the night. That's when you, you know, feel free to partake but when you're out on the water, it's risky," Hollifield said.
It's something Hunter Perdue with NC Wildlife Resources Commission echoed. He said that drinking while out on the water and operating a boat is a lot different than drinking in the comfort of your home.
He said you are more vulnerable to environmental stressors.
"Heat, dehydration, just the wave motion of being on the water, all of that can increase your likelihood of showing impairment," Perdue said.
He said throughout the weekend, people can expect more officers patrolling the waters and that drinking while boating is dangerous for everyone involved.
While WFMY News 2's Nixon Norman was out on Belew's Lake, the officers she was with sighted two people for registration issues.
Perdue said they aren't trying to ruin your day, but that often times those routine checks can lead to them finding and catching impaired boaters.