Four North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission officers patrolled Beaufort County waterways over the holiday weekend, enforcing “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive” a joint campaign between Wildlife Resources and the N.C. State Highway Patrol.

One person was charged with boating under the influence, seven boaters were issued citations for boating regulations violations and 13 boaters were issued warnings for violations on local waterways, according Wildlife Resources Area Sgt. Billy Cain III. Officers contacted 59 vessels total, with 105 boaters on board.

The campaign is in its fifth year of cracking down on driving/boating while impaired.

According to statistics published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard, North Carolina ranks 10th nationally in boating fatalities. The state ranks 16^th in traffic fatalities.

While all driving-while-impaired vehicle accidents are preventable, Cain said there are major differences between driving and boating.

“One thing is that there are no lines like there are on the road. Boats are going every which way. You have to be able to pay attention. It’s not like you can put on brakes. … By the time a boat stops, it might be too late (to avoid collision),” Cain said.

Boaters’ relative inexperience can also contribute to on-the-water accidents, he said.

“Most people have more experience driving by the time they’re 18 years old than a boater does in a lifetime of boating,” Cain said.

A charge of boating while impaired is not a matter of simply taking an impaired boater off a vessel — it’s a matter of logistics, according to Cain. First, Wildlife Resources officers must bring the boater aboard the Wildlife vessel and perform a field sobriety test. If the officer determines the boater is impaired, then another person must be found to pilot the boat to a dock. If no passengers are able to pilot the boat, and a second Wildlife officer is unavailable, then Sea Tow will be called to tow the vessel to dock, Cain said.

Wildlife Resources had the following totals statewide over the 2015 Fourth of July weekend: 206 citations, 26 operating while intoxicated charges; 16 boating accidents and three fatalities. During the same weekend, Highway Patrol noted 4,896 driving violations, 405 DWIs and 10 highway fatalities.