ALBANY — Strapped into a simulator going 5-10 mph, Cynthia Stubbs of Leesburg jerked when it came to a sudden stop. Another who climbed into the contraption grabbed his chest as the seat belt tightened upon impact.

Both took a chance on The Convincer, a device aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany that was devised to mimic the effects of sudden impact with a fixed object.

The Convincer and about 2,000 Marines and civilians were part of Marine Corps Logistics Command’s Safety Circus Day Thursday, during which organizations from throughout the community, state and Marine Corps encouraged safety through demonstrations and information.

Organizer Michael Basnight, director of installation, environment and safety at LOGCOM, said the inaugural event will become a base tradition.

On the grounds near the base’s Covella Pond, officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said that during holidays the number of accidents on the water increase.

“Boating under the influence (BUI) and (boating) at night without (head)lights are the two main causes of boating accidents,” said DNR Ranger First Class Ben Roberts.

According to DNR’s 2008 boating statistics, there has been one drowning, three boating incidents, one fatality, seven total injuries and one incident involving alcohol in Albany from January through April.

For Albany in 2007, DNR data shows, there were three drownings, 12 BUIs, six boating incidents, seven injuries, no deaths and one incident involving alcohol. For the state, in 2007 there were 189 BUIs, 51 drownings, 142 boating incidents, 100 injuries, 17 fatalities and 10 incidents involving alcohol.

Although drinking while boating contributes to accidents, Roberts said the holiday figures are mainly higher because “there are just more people on the water during the holiday period.

“Everybody in the state of Georgia will be working,” said Ranger Randy James of the state’s approximately 250 conservation rangers.

Back on land, grilling — and drinking — is an activity that for many go hand-in-hand with holidays. Potential implications of abusing alcohol aside, heat injuries also are a concern.

“In heat injury prevention, you need to think about the activities that you are doing, about water replacement,” said Donna Chalmers, occupational safety and health specialist at MCLB-Albany.

“Today (Thursday), it’s not so sunny, but you are still getting extreme rays and you are still getting dehydrated,” she said.

Chalmers suggests drinking water or sports drinks regularly, although “hourly intake should not exceed 1 1/2 quarts,” advises the Heat Injury Prevention Guide of the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine.

The signs of heat injury — fatigue, dizziness and shortness of breath, among others — are similar, to a degree, to those of cardiac problems, said Tim Phillips, a registered nurse who works at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

Anyone experiencing these symptoms and chest discomfort should head to the hospital, he said.

“We lose 20 percent of people through cardiac arrest,” Phillips said. “A lot of people thought it was indigestion and they were having a massive heart attack.”