11-16-2006, 08:04 PM
The U.S. Coast Guard's Office of Boating Safety recently announced the release of its 2005 Boating Statistics Report. While there were encouraging signs reflecting improvement in some areas of boating safety, the report also revealed that boaters continue to take unnecessary risks on the water, as evidenced by an increase in overall boating fatalities from 676 to 697.
"This report simply serves as a reminder that we have much more work to do in the boating safety advocacy arena," said Jeff Hoedt, Chief of the Office of Boating Safety. "Our goal is to reach all recreational boaters with information that would clearly explain the most important ways to protect yourself while boating, and to encourage them to make those behaviors a habit."
The U.S. Coast Guard's four tenets of their nationally known campaign, "You're in Command. Boat Responsibly!" illustrate their key recommendations for staying safe while boating: always wear your life jacket, take a boating safety course, never boat under the influence (BUI), and get an annual Vessel Safety Check (VSC).
In 2005, life jacket wear-acknowledged by many boating safety advocates to be the most important precaution one can take on the water-showed slight improvement from the previous year when measured in context of total boating fatalities.
In 2004, of the seventy percent of all recreational boating deaths caused by drowning (the leading cause of death in total boating fatalities), 89 percent of these victims were not wearing their life jackets. The sobering reality: if these victims had taken a few seconds to put on their personal flotation devices (PFDs) before heading out on the water, an estimated 431 deaths could have been prevented. In 2005, authorities were encouraged to see that the number of drowning victims who were not wearing life jackets decreased slightly from 89 to 87 percent, representing a welcome improvement, yet also serving as a reminder that boating advocates must continue to educate boaters about the importance of life jacket wear through mass public awareness initiatives.
"Whereas a two-percent decline may not seem significant, the numbers are moving in the right direction. It means that fewer people drowned needlessly because they were not wearing a life jacket," said Bruce Schmidt, Statistician, Office of Boating Safety. "The significance of wearing a life jacket cannot be overstated in the national conversation on boating safety on the water."
While 2005 total recorded fatalities included fewer victims who were not wearing life jackets, they showed an increase in the number of victims for whom alcohol was involved in their accidents. In total, alcohol was shown to be a direct or indirect contributing factor in approximately one-quarter of all boating deaths last year; this statistic is noteworthy as there were more fatal accidents caused by alcohol use in 2005 than in any other year since 2001.
Remaining unchanged in 2005 was the number of boating fatalities that occurred on boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction-approximately 70 percent. Also, carelessness/reckless operation, operator inattention, operator inexperience, and excessive speed were still the overall leading contributing factors of all reported accidents.
As it is estimated that America's waterways play host to some 78 million boaters and nearly 13 million registered boats each year, boating safety advocates agree it is more important than ever to advance the boating safety message.
"The reality is that safety is the factor that preserves boating as a relaxing and fun activity," says Hoedt. "We must all do our part to make sure that America's current and future generation of boaters can enjoy the sport for years to come."
For more information on boating responsibly, go to: www.USCGboating.org
"This report simply serves as a reminder that we have much more work to do in the boating safety advocacy arena," said Jeff Hoedt, Chief of the Office of Boating Safety. "Our goal is to reach all recreational boaters with information that would clearly explain the most important ways to protect yourself while boating, and to encourage them to make those behaviors a habit."
The U.S. Coast Guard's four tenets of their nationally known campaign, "You're in Command. Boat Responsibly!" illustrate their key recommendations for staying safe while boating: always wear your life jacket, take a boating safety course, never boat under the influence (BUI), and get an annual Vessel Safety Check (VSC).
In 2005, life jacket wear-acknowledged by many boating safety advocates to be the most important precaution one can take on the water-showed slight improvement from the previous year when measured in context of total boating fatalities.
In 2004, of the seventy percent of all recreational boating deaths caused by drowning (the leading cause of death in total boating fatalities), 89 percent of these victims were not wearing their life jackets. The sobering reality: if these victims had taken a few seconds to put on their personal flotation devices (PFDs) before heading out on the water, an estimated 431 deaths could have been prevented. In 2005, authorities were encouraged to see that the number of drowning victims who were not wearing life jackets decreased slightly from 89 to 87 percent, representing a welcome improvement, yet also serving as a reminder that boating advocates must continue to educate boaters about the importance of life jacket wear through mass public awareness initiatives.
"Whereas a two-percent decline may not seem significant, the numbers are moving in the right direction. It means that fewer people drowned needlessly because they were not wearing a life jacket," said Bruce Schmidt, Statistician, Office of Boating Safety. "The significance of wearing a life jacket cannot be overstated in the national conversation on boating safety on the water."
While 2005 total recorded fatalities included fewer victims who were not wearing life jackets, they showed an increase in the number of victims for whom alcohol was involved in their accidents. In total, alcohol was shown to be a direct or indirect contributing factor in approximately one-quarter of all boating deaths last year; this statistic is noteworthy as there were more fatal accidents caused by alcohol use in 2005 than in any other year since 2001.
Remaining unchanged in 2005 was the number of boating fatalities that occurred on boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction-approximately 70 percent. Also, carelessness/reckless operation, operator inattention, operator inexperience, and excessive speed were still the overall leading contributing factors of all reported accidents.
As it is estimated that America's waterways play host to some 78 million boaters and nearly 13 million registered boats each year, boating safety advocates agree it is more important than ever to advance the boating safety message.
"The reality is that safety is the factor that preserves boating as a relaxing and fun activity," says Hoedt. "We must all do our part to make sure that America's current and future generation of boaters can enjoy the sport for years to come."
For more information on boating responsibly, go to: www.USCGboating.org