Safe boating is the aim of all boaters and comes from education/training
and experience. This excerpt from a recent Boating Statistics report,
provided by the United States Coast Guard, is presented in the interest
of safety by helping boaters learn from the experience of others.
To read the full report, please visit
http://www.uscgboating.org/statistics/accident_stats.htm
FATALITY RATE
Historically, one indicator of safety in recreational boating is
the fatality rate, e.g., the number of reported fatalities as compared
to the number of registered recreational boats. The registered boat
population is based on the annual Report of Certificates of Number
Issued to Boats, each State and jurisdiction forwards to the Coast
Guard. The report also provides statistics on registered boats by
length, hull material, and type of propulsion. Please note there are limitations to this methodology.
One is that fatality rate comparisons between States are invalid
because of differences in the scope of each State's boat registration
system. Another limitation is that fatalities occur on boats which
are not registered, and therefore not included in the boat registration
statistics. Users should be aware of these limitations when working
with the fatality rate. A more reliable estimate of the fatality
rate for each State or jurisdiction can be found by comparing fatalities
occurring only on specific categories of registered boats.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BOATING STATISTICS - 2007
When comparing 2006 and 2007, the
number of deaths dropped from 710 to 685. However, other
casualty figures increased: accidents rose from 4967 to
5191, injuries rose from 3474 to 3673, and damages rose from
$43,670,424 to $53,106,496.
Over two-thirds of all fatal boating
accident victims drowned, and of those, ninety (90) percent
were not wearing a life jacket.
Only fourteen (14) percent of deaths
occurred on vessels where the operator had received boating
safety instruction.
Three out of every four boaters who
drowned were using vessels less than 21 feet in length.
Operator inattention, careless/reckless
operation, passenger/skier behavior, excessive speed, and
alcohol use rank as the top five primary contributing
factors in accidents.
Alcohol use is the leading contributing
factor in fatal boating accidents; it was listed as the
leading factor in 21% of the deaths.
Sixteen (16) children age 12 and under
lost their lives while boating in 2007, compared to 29
children in 2006 and 21 children in 2005. Half (8) of the
children who died in 2007 died from drowning.
The most common types of vessels
involved in reported accidents were open motorboats (44%),
personal watercraft (24%), and cabin motorboats (15%). The
number of deaths associated with the use of canoes/kayaks
increased to 107 in 2007 as compared with 99 in 2006.
The 12,875,568 vessels registered by
the States in 2007 represent a one percent increase from
last year when 12,746,126 vessels were registered.
For charts containing the following statistics
Click Here
Primary Contributing Factors
Fatalities & Lifejacket Wear
Number of Deaths by Vessel Type
The American Boating Association
PO Box 456
Centerville, MA 02632
Tel: 508-534-9893
