BOATING SAFETY FACT SHEET

NOTE: All figures are the latest available data from the U.S Coast Guard’s “Boating Statistics 2003,” the most recent publication on reported recreational boating accidents. *

Totals

Fatalities: 703
Drownings: 481
Injuries (person requiring medical treatment beyond first aid): 3,888
Boating Accidents: 5,438
Property Damage: $40,422,374
Number of registered recreational boats in the U.S.: 12,794,616

Fatalities

Top 10 states for boating fatalities:

Number of Fatalities

1. Florida (64)

2. California (61)

3. Louisiana (40)

4. Texas (36)

5. New York (34)

6. South Carolina (30)

7. Michigan (29)

8. Alaska (21)

9. Virginia (20)

10. Wisconsin (20)

Drowning was reported as the cause of death for 68 percent of all fatalities.

86 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.

Capsizings and falls overboard occurred in 57 percent of all reported fatalities.

31 percent of all boating fatalities resulted from some involvement with alcohol –down 8 percent from 2002.

27 children age 12 and under lost their lives while boating. Nearly 52 percent (14) of these children (the majority) were not wearing life jackets.

Operator inattention, carelessness/reckless operation, operator inexperience, and excessive speed are the leading contributing factors in all reported accidents.

Nearly 80 percent of all boating fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had not completed a boating safety instruction course.

Increases were observed in the number of reported fatalities involving cabin motorboats (64) and canoes and kayaks (87) from 2002.

Accidents

Top 10 states for boating accidents:

Number of Accidents

California (797)
Florida (752)
New York (224)
Michigan (218)
Missouri (201)
Texas (198)
Arizona (188)
Tennessee (155)
Maryland (146)

10. North Carolina (144)

*Full report available at http://www.uscgboating.org/statistics.

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