COLUMBUS, OH - With a five-day July 4th holiday weekend expected to bring a record number of boaters and anglers to Ohio waterways, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) urges increased alertness and safety while on the water.

A full force of state watercraft officers, along with community marine patrol units and the U.S. Coast Guard, will be working on waterways from the Ohio River to Lake Erie from Friday, June 30 through Tuesday, July 4, in anticipation of this busy recreational period.

“We’ve been fortunate in seeing a gradual reduction in boating-related accidents and fatalities as boating participation increased over the past 30 years,” said Mike Quinn, acting chief of the ODNR Division of Watercraft. “We want to maintain the trend and that means boaters still need to stay sober, remain alert and remember safety on the water.”

An approved, properly fitted life jacket is a key component to boating safety and wearing one is the most important safety practice to follow. Most boating fatalities result from drowning where as many as 90 percent of victims failed to properly wear an approved life jacket or other type of personal flotation device.

Ohio law requires that children under age 10 must wear a life jacket of the proper type and size while riding on any boat less than 18 feet long. The life jacket requirement also applies to anyone, regardless of age, who is riding on a personal watercraft or being towed behind a boat such as a tuber or water skier.

Boat operators are reminded that they are included in the state’s drunk-driving law that was revised in 2003. The current blood alcohol content limit by which a motorist or boat operator may be considered legally intoxicated is 0.08 percent. Last year, state watercraft officers issued 86 citations to legally drunk watercraft operators and 198 citations for other alcohol-related violations.

Keeping a proper lookout, avoiding alcohol consumption and wearing a life jacket are among a number of safety tips ODNR advises boaters to follow. Additional safety tips and information on safe boating education programs, boating destinations and opportunities, boating rules, access facilities and other programs are available at ohiodnr.com.
 

For additional news online, check out the ODNR Press Room at Ohiodnr.com