‘Make sure everyone goes home’: TWRA enforces boat safety for 4th of July

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — State wildlife officers will be out in full force this 4th of July weekend.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) told News 2 that they would be across Tennessee waterways watching for drunk boaters and other safety violations.

“I am taking my kids and grandchildren to the fireworks show up here,” boater Noel Woody said. “We do it every year.”

“It’s going to be fun,” boater Rick Mitchell said. “It’s always fun when the fireworks go off.”

State officers are on the water, too. We hopped on the boat with the TWRA to cruise Old Hickory Lake.

“We’ll do our job, do it well, and make sure everybody has a good time and goes home at the end of the day,” TWRA Lieutenant Eric Anderson said.

They’re looking out for intoxicated boaters and they’re also checking other safety measures, like the number of life vests on board.

“All in all, just to keep people safe,” Anderson said. “Not trying to keep anybody from having fun, but overall, we want everybody to go home at the end of the day.”

Officers told News 2 that a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher means that it’s illegal to drive a car or a boat. Over Memorial Day weekend , there were 13 boating while intoxicated arrests in Tennessee. It’s going to be a long and hot holiday weekend, but boaters told News 2 that they’re prepared.

“We’ve got it air conditioned downstairs, we got fans blowing out here for the heat. We’ve got plenty of life jackets on board,” Mitchell said. “Just going to stay between the buoys and watch traffic.”

“New boaters — it’s a big safety concern. People drinking too much, not hydrating properly, and not knowing the laws of the lake is a safety concern,” Woody said. “Also, people who don’t know the laws of the lake.”

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