ADDITIONAL CAUSES OF MARINE CASUALTIES
2007 U. S. Coast Guard Executive Summary
• 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. (Source – USCG 2007 statistics).
Listed below are some of the more common types of marine casualties. Prevention of these casualties can be achieved by simple common sense measures such as; knowing where your boat is, and the status of the propeller, in relation to people in the water, slowing down, maintaining a proper lookout, and learning of local hazards.
Skier mishap
Causes:
- Hands or feet caught in the towline due to lack of communications between towboat operator and skier.
- Skier struck by propeller or outdrive unit due to operator coming too close to skier or not shutting off the engine.
- Operating too close to the shoreline, shoreline structures, buoys or boats.
- Operating too fast for the skier’s abilities.
- Improper retrieval methods.
- Carbon Monoxide asphyxiation when skiers are near engine exhausts.
Prevention:
- The boat operator must constantly communicate with skier and observer. Always know the location of the skier in the water.
- Turn off the engine when skiers are preparing to enter the water, or during retrieval when the person is within swimming distance of the boat.
- Operate well away from the shoreline, docks or other structures.
- Know your skier’s abilities and don’t operate beyond them.
- Never allow teak surfing or dragging as the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, or severe injury, are great.
Collision with another vessel or object
Causes:
- lack of a proper lookout.
- Not following the established navigation rules of the road.
- Excessive speed.
Prevention:
- Always maintain a proper lookout.
- Know and follow the navigation rules.
- Go slow when in unfamiliar waters or when maneuvering in close-quarter situations such as docking or getting underway from a dock.
Striking a submerged object
Causes:
- Improper lookout and/or excessive speed.
- Not knowing the local area or consulting a chart.
- Plain bad luck, as many times there is no way to see a submerged or partially submerged object before striking it.
Prevention:
- Maintain a proper and effective lookout at all time.
- Learn the local area and use the appropriate charts.
- Operate slowly when in unfamiliar areas, at night, or after recent heavy rains.
Vessel, propeller, propulsion unit, or steering machinery strikes a person
The annual U.S. Coast Guard recreational boating statistics on fatalities and injuries show propeller incidents represent 4 percent of all fatalities, with a growing number of injuries. Since the danger is not readily visible to boating participants, the boat operator and passengers may not recognize or consider the consequences of accidental or inadvertent contact with propellers.
Causes:
- Not knowing where people are in relation to the boat is a major cause of propeller strikes.
- Not following the established safety rules of always shutting off the engine when retrieving skiers, or swimmers.
- Persons falling out of the boat due to sudden unexpected maneuvers, excessive speed, bow riding, or horseplay. There is also a phenomenon known as the “Circle of Death” wherein a person is ejected from their boat, the boat begins circling the person and eventually strikes them. The circling is generally caused by an outboard motor which gets stuck in a hard left or right turn.
Prevention:
- Maintain a proper lookout and a safe speed.
- Always shut off the engine(s) when preparing to put the skier in the water or when the skier is retrieved.
- Wear a lanyard or remote electronic type “kill switch” that will shut off the engine when the lanyard is pulled or the remote electronic kill switch is submerged in water.
Motorboat propellers can inflict severe, devastating injuries that result in death, loss of extremities, severe permanent deformity, disfigurement, and/or disability. Every year people who recreate on and around boats are struck by the propeller of their boat or another boat. Even propellers in neutral or at rest can cause serious injuries.
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