Missouri State Water Patrol said gasoline prices had a lot to do with it.

"I think the people are still are probably coming down. They might not be taking as many boat trips as they normally would every day, throughout the weekend. And if they are probably anchoring out somewhere," said Eric Mueller of the Mo. Water Patrol.

Also different this Labor Day weekend, drunk boating laws are now as strict as drunk driving laws.

The Mo. Water Patrol reported a slight drop in boating accidents and injuries. However, it reported 12 fewer boating-while-intoxicated arrests from 2007 to 2008.

Drivers were also playing it safer on the highways. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported eight fewer deaths and 50 fewer traffic crashes on Missouri roadways.

"That's a great sign for us in the reduction of fatalities, because in the last couple of years we've seen a fatality reduction in your year long totals as well as many of the holiday periods. It's always a good sign to see those numbers keep going down," Capt. Tim Hall of the Mo. State Highway Patrol said.

Only one of the six road fatalities reported by the highway patrol was in the mid-Missouri area.