| Boating Safety - It's For Everyone |
| By James "Doc" Lewis |
Published
11/30/2005
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Safety
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Unrated
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Some Pertinent Facts:
The most common accident to passengers and crew is falling overboard. According to the statistics over 40% of all fatal boating accidents start this way. It can be avoided if boaters make sure they have good footing and a good hand-hold at all times. An, age-old, seafaring reminder, which I first heard in the Coast Guard, goes like this. "One hand for the ship, one hand for the sailor."
Children should never be allowed to move about on an underway boat. If you need to move around on the boat, for any reason, reduce speed and make sure to get and keep a grip with at least one hand.
Alcohol and water don't mix. In a Red Cross study, two-thirds of boating injury victims had consumed alcohol. Almost 40% had an alcohol level above the legal limit. Besides being illegal, it's dangerous to operate any kind of machinery while drinking. A boat is no exception.
35% of boating accidents were directly attributable to alcohol use and the overwhelming primary cause of fatalities was alcohol-related. If you drink and boat, you are more likely to be involved in an accident, and once involved, more likely to die.
53% of fatal boating accident victims drowned, while 39% suffered trauma and 9% died of other causes.
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