July Fourth weekend boaters reminded to buckle up and forget the beer (2005-06-21)

At least 80 percent of the victims of fatal boating accidents would have survived had they been wearing their life jackets. So says the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

"It happens time and time again," said Tim Smalley DNR boating safety specialist. "The boat is found drifting empty in the lake, and in among the fishing gear on the bottom of the boat is an unworn life jacket. The victim probably thought that since he was a good swimmer, he didn't need to wear it when he was boating in fair weather."

At this time (June 21, 2005) Minnesota boating deaths stand at 10, which is three ahead of last year and nine ahead of the 2003 toll at this time.

"I think what surprises people the most about fatal boating accidents is that they aren't fiery high-speed collisions between high-powered boats," Smalley said. "It's a simple capsizing or fall overboard. The person stands up to move around in the boat, loses balance and topples into the water or capsizes the boat."

If a person's head goes under water, the sudden shock of entering cold water causes the victim to gasp and aspirate water into their lungs. If the person is not wearing a life jacket, drowning is going to be the outcome.

Lack of enough life jackets is one of the most common boating law citations written by DNR conservation officers and sheriff's deputies.

"I don't think people mean to be unsafe, but in the excitement to get out on the water to fish or ski or just cruise, they forget to make sure there are enough life jackets of the proper size and type in the boat, or if they do have life vests, they don't put them on," Smalley noted.

The Minnesota life jacket law changed several years ago. Where once a boater’s flotation seat cushion fulfilled legal requirements, now, each person in the boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard approved type I, II, III or V wearable Personal Flotation Device (PFD or life jacket) on board. For boats 16 feet and longer except canoes and kayaks, there must also be one Type IV boaters' flotation seat cushion or ring buoy in the boat. The life vests must be the proper size for the person they are intended and be readily accessible.

"Readily accessible means that they have to be easy to reach in time of an emergency," Smalley said. "A life vest that is zipped into a case or still in the plastic wrapper is not considered readily accessible in the eyes of the law."

And it is much smarter to be wearing one rather than just shoving it under the boat seat. Smalley said that putting on a life jacket when you are warned of an imminent boat accident would be like trying to put a seatbelt on in the split second before a car crash.

"Boating accidents usually happen without warning so you have to be wearing it all the time to be safe," Smalley said.

"You could fill a warehouse with the life jackets that were hanging unused on the back of a boat seat because the boater thought that they would have some warning before an accident," Smalley noted.

A life vest is required to be worn by the operator and passengers of a personal watercraft, (commonly known as jet skis, wave runners, etc.). A new Minnesota law requires kids under 10 to wear a life jacket in recreational vessels boats unless inside an enclosure such as cabin cruisers, below decks, etc., or when on an anchored boat being used as a swimming or diving platform.

According to the DNR, the other big problem in boating safety is alcohol. Boating while intoxicated (BWI) has been unlawful for years, yet there are still more than one hundred arrests for that offense every year.

"People who would never think of drinking and driving a car will grab a cooler full of beer and empty it in the course of an afternoon's boat outing," said Smalley. "I guess they don't understand that drinking and operating a boat can be more dangerous than driving a car, and sometimes they wind up hurting themselves and others around them."

July Fourth weekend often sees several non-boat related drownings as well.

"So far there have been five non-boat related drownings, and summer has really just gotten started," said Smalley. "People really need to pay close attention to their children when they are near the water and everyone should always swim with a responsible buddy."

DNR conservation officers and county sheriff's deputies will be on the water in full force over the long July Fourth weekend enforcing the BWI and other safety laws.

"If people would only wear their life jackets and avoid alcohol when they are boating, Minnesota waters would be considerably safer and there would be more people alive at the end of the summer," Smalley said.

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