Michigan Lakes

Statewide, there were 12 fatal boat accidents through the end of August, according to statistics from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. That's down significantly from all of 2004, when there were 25 fatal boat accidents and 27 people killed in those accidents. Law enforcement officials say boating activity -- and resulting accidents and deaths -- drop significantly after Labor Day.

Overall, there were 93 boating accidents involving 118 vessels in the state by the end of August, down from 168 accidents involving 217 vessels in 2004. There were 986,456 boats registered in the state as of the end of August, according to the Secretary of State.

"I can't imagine why the numbers are exactly opposite of what I would expect," said Lt. Creig Grey of the DNR's law enforcement division. "I would like to think it's due to increased awareness of boating safety. I just can't say for sure."

Drowning statistics weren't available for all of Michigan, but in metro Detroit the numbers are either down or flat.

Oakland County, which consistently records the most boating accidents in the state because of its 450 lakes, had three drownings and one fatal boat accident through the end of August, compared with nine drownings and one fatal boat accident last year, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

"We started off with a string of tragedies, but then it leveled off," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. "As the season wore on, we're much happier with the results."

Accidents were up in Oakland, however, with 34 recorded through the end of August compared with 27 in 2004.

"There's 400-plus lakes there, so it's going to have the most," Grey said referring to accidents. "But it's getting better. Last year, we had 27 fatals in the state. In the early '70s, they had that many fatalities just in Oakland County."

Macomb County has a big lake to patrol -- Lake St. Clair -- and the traffic on the lake was high. But fatalities remained flat, said Lt. Brian Barlog, commander of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office's marine division. There were three drownings on the lake both this year and last.

The department saw an increase in search and rescue operations, helping boaters who may have run out of gas or experienced engine problems.

"And sometimes, they just can't figure out where they are," said Barlog. "But we've definitely seen an increase in boat traffic because of the warmer weather."

Wayne County reported three drownings this year -- two in Belleville Lake and one on the Rouge River -- the same number as last year.

"But we're holding our breath," said Sgt. Doug Siepelt, of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office's marine division. "Labor Day weekend is the wildest weekend of the year. It's the last hurrah for boaters."

By Monday afternoon, however, there were no accidents reported on the lakes in Wayne, Oakland or Macomb counties.

"We've had so many good weekends so there have been a lot of boaters," said Siepelt. "But the last couple of weekends haven't been nearly as busy. Maybe it's the gas prices."