Boaters beware, the United States Coast Guard isn't playing around when it comes to reckless driving in no wake zones.

Prompted by a string of incidents in which smaller vessels have failed to follow boating laws, officials issued a warning on Wednesday reminding operators of the consequences.

Simply put, operating a vessel negligently can cost you up to $6,559 for a recreational vessel or up to $32,796 for any other type of vessel.

As an example, the Coast Guard cited an incident on June 21 in which a driver piloted his powerboat down the Saginaw River at a high rate of speed at the same time as the Menominee freighter was heading toward an open Liberty Bridge near downtown Bay City.

The driver flew past the 616-foot freighter on the east side of the river before making a sharp left turn and completing a lap around the vessel.

The driver eventually made a $1,000 penalty payment, according to the Coast Guard, but it's hardly been an isolated incident.

In August, George Haynes, licensed captain and vice-president of Lakes Pilots Association, outlined several incidents between smaller vessels and freighters in the St. Clair River.

At one point, a fishing boat actually began to drive toward a massive freighter traveling near the Blue Water Bridge, essentially playing chicken with it.

"Be mindful of these large ships that transit our waterways," the Coast Guard notice reads.

"They do not have the capability to maneuver like small boats and operating negligently around these ships, aside from a steep fine, can cause injury or worse. Consider your recreational boat to be like a motorcycle and the ships to be like a semi-truck...which do you think will fare worse in a collision?"

An outline of navigation rules can be seen below.