The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
FWC PUSHES THREE MAIN MESSAGES
FOR BOAT-SAFETY CAMPAIGN
FOR BOAT-SAFETY CAMPAIGN
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is keying in on three core messages as its Division of Law Enforcement gears up for a busy summer boating season: stay alert, wear your life jacket and dont drink and operate a boat. The agency says keeping these messages in mind can dramatically decrease your chances of getting into an accident and increase your chances of survival if you do.
In 2003, Florida led the nation in boating deaths with 64, and last year we had 68. We hope to reverse that trend by alerting boaters to the biggest dangers, said Capt. Richard Moore, Floridas boating law administrator.
Moore said the agency honed in on the three safety messages after analyzing Floridas boat accident data.
Collisions with vessels or fixed objects are the two leading types of accidents. Last year, they accounted for nearly half of the mishaps on Floridas waterways. Moore said this reflects the importance of staying alert to everything going on around you.
One of the biggest misconceptions about boating accidents is that they are caused by extremely reckless behavior, but when you look at the numbers you see that it comes down to people not paying attention or making one careless move, Moore said. We want people to go out and have fun, but also to understand the minute they lose focus something could happen.
Moore said alcohol and not wearing a life jacket are the two major contributors to fatal accidents. In 2004, alcohol use was the primary cause of 21 percent of boating deaths. Almost one-third of the fatal accidents were classified as falls overboard, and drowning was the cause of death in 65 percent of those fatalities.
We dont know the exact number of people who would have survived these accidents had they been wearing a life jacket, but there is no doubt that most might still be alive today if they had worn a life jacket, Moore said.
Beginning May 21, the FWC will flood Lee County with the three key messages to test out a new boat safety campaign. The $250,000 pilot program will target boaters with television, print and radio advertisements, billboards, point-of-sale displays and handouts from law enforcement officers, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Power Squadrons. The agency is conducting pre- and post-campaign surveys to evaluate the campaigns effectiveness. If the pilot program is successful, the FWC will roll out the campaign to other target areas with high boating-accident numbers.
May 21-26 is National Safe Boating Week in Florida.
Visit MyFWC.com/law/boating/ to get boating-accident statistics.
. Half measure.
