The Facts
The U.S. Coast Guard’s 2007 Recreational Boating Statistics show:
- 685 fatalities — 3,673 injuries — 5,191 accidents — $53 million in property damage.
- 90 percent of drowning victims were not wearing life jackets.
- Alcohol was the leading contributing factor in approximately one-fifth of all boating fatalities.
- Only 14 percent of all boating fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had received boating safety instruction.
- The most reported type of accident was a collision with another vessel. However, capsizing and falls overboard are the most reported types of fatal accidents and accounted for the majority (60 percent) of all boating fatalities.
- Overall, operator inattention, carelessness/reckless operation, excessive speed and passenger/skier behavior are the leading contributing factors of all reported accidents.
Recreation boating accidents are tragic because the great majority of accidents are preventable.
