News Release Archives - May 2008
May 19, 2008
Safe Boating Week Emphasizes Need for Life Jackets
There’s no safety substitute for wearing a personal flotation device while recreating on public waters, and the facts prove it.
Safe Boating Week, a public awareness campaign held annually in May, emphasizes the need for boaters to wears life jackets. Failure to wear a PFD is the main reason people lose their lives in boating accidents.
Nancy Boldt, boat and water safety coordinator for the state Game and Fish Department, said the good news is there were no fatalities in North Dakota last year. The bad news is there are still boaters who refuse to wear a life jacket.
“The following statistics should be eye-opening for those who think this is just a bunch of talk,” Boldt said.
• Each year, about 700 people nationwide die in boating-related accidents.
• Nearly 70 percent are caused by drowning, and eight of 10 victims were not wearing a life jacket.
• Also, eight of 10 victims were using boats less than 20 feet in length.
• 70 percent of reported fatalities occur on boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Boldt said. “Boaters need to take it seriously. And if it’s beginning to sound like a broken record, it means we are doing right by getting the message out.”
North Dakota law requires Coast Guard approved PFDs in the following circumstances:
• On watercraft less than 16 feet in length, one wearable PFD must be on board for each person.
• Anyone being towed on water-skis, surfboard, or a similar device must wear a PFD.
• No person may operate or permit the operation of a personal watercraft without each person on board wearing a PFD.
• Watercraft of 16 feet or longer must have one wearable PFD for each person on board, and one throwable flotation device.
• On any vessel less than 27 feet in length, all persons 10 years of age or younger must wear a properly fastened, Coast Guard approved PFD.
Boaters are reminded to test life jackets for serviceability and fit. All straps and buckles must be intact and there should be no rips or tears in the fabric.
“Test life jackets by wearing them in the water,” Boldt said. “A properly fitted life jacket should keep the wearer’s face and mouth out of the water and enable him or her to float without effort.”
Will open a new window (pop-up).