The July 4 boating accident on Biscayne Bay in Miami that cost four people their lives has horrified boaters pushing the importance of following basic safety skills on the water.

While an investigation is ongoing, preliminary reports say that alcohol was involved when the 32-foot Contender plowed into a 36-foot Carrera near Dinner Key Marina around 10:40 p.m. The Carrera spun out of control and hit a third boat. Toxicology tests to prove alcohol and drug levels in the deceased will take weeks to process.

Unknown at this time is whether the boaters involved were wearing life jackets or how fast the Contender was traveling. What is known is that the impact from the Contender left a gaping hole in the second boat.

“The tragedy lends itself to a discussion of boater safety and education and the importance of wearing life jackets,” says Mike Cortese, commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami Beach. The best source of prevention is education regarding rules of the road and maintaining a safe speed.”

Rescue crews searched the dark night waters for 22 passengers on the three boats involved. Victoria Dempsey, 20; Andrew Garcia, 23; Kelsie Karpiak, 24; and Jason Soleimani, 23, died. Three others suffered serious injuries.

“That accident was horrible,” says Gregg Henry, rear commodore with the Gulfstream Sailing Club in Fort Lauderdale. “We’re sailors. Accidents do happen in sailboats from people falling overboard, but not from high-speed collisions.”

One solution may be increased law enforcement, Henry suggests. He adds that “Miami doesn’t have the money to keep the boats under control. With go-fast boats like these, boaters rev their engines and go fast to show off. Those engines have two speeds — full out or not at all.”

Jim Webb, commodore of the Gulfstream Sailing Club, isn’t surprised by the tragedy, which in his view had all the elements of a catastrophe: “There are too many boats going too fast. The accident strikes close to home for me because I keep my boat in Crandon Park on Key Biscayne.”

He says that young people are maneuvering their fathers’ powerboats at high speeds. Things get complicated when hundreds of boats decide to leave the same event at the same time.

“The wakes are so bad and you’re trying to control your boat,” says Webb. “It’s like being in the middle of a storm.”

In 2012, Florida led the nation with the highest number of boating accidents with 662, nearly double the second-place state of California with 365. Falling in third place was New York with 197 boating accidents.

The figures for 2013 accidents emphasize just where the biggest problems on the water occur. Miami-Dade County with 59,708 recreational vehicles was number one in Florida with four deaths and 50 injuries in a total of 104 reportable accidents. Number four was Broward County with one death and 29 injuries in a total of 50 reportable accidents.

Of course, none of this carnage and destruction has to take place. The twin culprits of drugs and alcohol accounted for nine deaths from boating accidents in Florida in 2013.

“Alcohol and drug-related boating accidents are preventable,” said Capt. Tom Shipp of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Boating and Waterways Section. “Even one death is too many.”

The recklessness of boaters is reflected in this irony. In 2004, there were 946,072 registered recreational vehicles on Florida waterways. In 2013, there were fewer — just 870,749 recreational vehicles. Yet, from 2011 to 2013, each of those years had in excess of 700 reportable accidents, a figure that has increased in the past decade.

It’s as if no one is paying attention to the posters and official efforts to promote Operation Dry Water, exhorting boaters to never boat while under the influence. This nationwide public education effort to prevent accidents has special relevance on holidays and weekends, when it’s party time for many boaters.

Some boat owners like Steven Sylvester of Fort Lauderdale take the opposite approach and stay home. This owner of a Bayliner Rendezvous says of holidays and weekends, “This is the time when it’s carte blanche for stupidity. We won’t go out then because of the alcoholism of other boaters. We feel this way because of witnessing people out of control and possibly intoxicated, practicing unsafe boating. They really lack any boating knowledge or awareness of safety.”

As friends of the families of the accident victims, Miami sport fishing captains Bric Peeples and Terry Claus are on a mission to institute safety measures that might prevent such a tragedy in the future. According to a recent article in the Miami Herald, the two men want mandatory licensing and on-water education for recreational boaters; harsh penalties for boating under the influence; and a change in lighting requirements for recreational boats, so that skippers can easily make out approaching vessels from the city’s bright lights.

They are also pushing for a daytime idle-only zone around popular Mashta Flats sandbar off Key Biscayne, a popular place for boaters to anchor and hold parties on weekends and holidays.

Meanwhile, boaters say these are steps in the right direction, but are they enough?

“It gets back to being a kid,” Webb said. “One thing leads to another, which is too bad. What can you do? Education?”