Safety On The Water Top Of Mind This Holiday Weekend

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — On a busy Labor Day Weekend, Florida Fish and Wildlife took CBS4 out on a boat to talk safety.

The agency's Jorge Pino said "The most important thing people need is common sense and to know general rules to navigate on waterways. Then you should be ok."

Here's what is required on a boat: serviceable life vests for everyone on board, a throwable device, a sound producing device, and flares.

If history is any indication, people will be arrested for boating-while-intoxicated. Today's arrests, though, were mostly safety violations.

An example seen today: one group having to dig for their life vests, which were stored under a heavy cooler, and some other dangerous equipment.

They were missing one vest – a serious and dangerous violation.

"People just don't pay attention when they're out here and they're operating vessel – hence we have accidents – people die. That's what we are trying to avoid," said Pino.

A safety violation is a 90-dollar fee. Not only is it a fee but also a danger to the people on the boat – so the best thing to do is to make sure you have all you safety equipment before you get on the water.