National Safe Boating Week Urges Boaters to Wear Life Jackets

 
 

This week is National Safe Boating Week, and throughout the boating season, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the National Safe Boating Council remind boaters to strap on those life jackets and be alert and ware while out on the water. Approximately 700 people drown in the United States each year from recreational boating accidents, the vast majority of which could have been spared their fate by simply wearing a life jacket.

Indiana Conservation Officer Lt. Bill Browne said most, if not all, drownings can be prevented by wearing a life jacket. Keeping one’s head above water effectively eliminates the possibility of drowning, and wearing a life jacket is the only foolproof prevention measure.

Conservation officers are also urging people to be sober while boating and plan for a designated boat driver if alcohol will be on board. Conservation officers made 337 arrests in 2012 for operating a motorboat while intoxicated.

So, regardless of how hot it is outside, how “uncool” you think you look wearing one, how well you can swim, or how safe you think it is, wear a life jacket and eliminate the possibility of an accident that could possibly take your life.