WAVES

Watercraft and Vessel Safety

THE NEWSLETTER FROM THE U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY DEPARTMENT OF BOATING
VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1 FEBRUARY, 2004
Department Chief: J esse L. Harrup, J r., DC-B, 1201 Canterbury Lane, Colonial Heights, VA 23834-2709
Newsletter Editor: J ohn Sikes, BC-BRN, 141 Southwold Circle, Goose Creek, SC 29445 [email protected]
RETHINKING MANDATORY PFD WEAR
William S. Griswold, BC-BLN
For years, the National Safe Boating Campaign has
exhorted the public to Boat Smart, Boat Safe, Wear It
or older versions, It Floats, You Dont, Boat Smart
from the Start, Wear your Life J acket, direct references
to wearing your lifejacket. Every organization associated
with recreational boating safety pounds that message, in
classrooms, in literature, during vessel checks, at
boating booths, and in the media. This core message
transcends alcohol abuse, hypothermia, and all the other
hazards one might encounter on the water. Yet, the JSI
National PFD Wearage Observational Study 2002,
funded by a grant from the Wallop-Breaux Trust Fund
states, that there has been no improvement in PFD wear
rates over the five year period, 1998-2002. This study
observed a total of 71,074 boats and 190,936 people
during the 5-year period. And I believe that most would
agree this is the case. Our present tactics are not
improving the situation.
In 2003, the Canadian Safe Boating Council
commissioned Smart Risk to investigate the advisability
of advocating for legislation mandatory PFD wear for
boaters in small craft. This comprehensive paper looked
at four blocks of research:
The magnitude of the issue
The risk factors involved, with particular
emphasis on the role of PFD wear
The political and legal context
The likely public response to the introduction of
legislation
Concurrently, and possibly without a direct connection,
the National Boating Safety Advisory Committee passed
a resolution to study mandatory wear of life jackets on
boats 21 feet and under. The Western States Boating
Administrators at their annual 2003 meeting passed a
resolution supporting the Advisory Committees stance
and brought a resolution to the 2003 National
Association of State Boating Law Administrators
conference asking that body to adopt a model act
requiring PFD wear on small boats. That resolution was
sent back to committee for further work. However, the
resolution contained a statement that NASBLA adopted
a resolution in 1973 requesting the Congress to impose
mandatory PFD wear on boats less than 16 feet as a
national requirement. This issue has been around for
some time.
In boating statistics in
the U.S. and in
Canada, the numbers
show that roughly
80% of the
recreational boating
fatalities drown, and
that wearing life
jackets could have
saved about 80% of
those who did drown.
This has held firm
over the years, and
has become a
constant. Other
studies show that the
wear rate increases
with rough weather,
NASBW is May 22-28, 2004
but that most fatalities occur in fair weather and calm
water. People end up in the water unexpectedly, and
having a jacket immediately available is usually not an
option. Even if the jacket ends up in the water next to
the victim, putting it on while swimming is difficult at best.
A comparison might be buckling up your seat belt just
before the collision. It probably is reasonable that if 700
people die in boating accidents, about 560 will drown,
and 448 could survive had they had their jackets on.
The boating community has used the same arguments
to justify mandatory wearing of PFDs for children. Many
states have passed laws requiring children of various
ages to wear a proper fitting PFD. The Coast Guard
passed a Federal Regulation covering those states
without a PFD law, which will require children 12 and
under to wear their PFD. The Canadian paper finds an
unwillingness of government to institute an unpopular
regulatory regime, and the perception that mandatory
wear would be extremely unpopular. However, in public
opinion polls a solid majority of boaters supported the
idea of mandatory wear in Canada.
An associated issue could be the liability of boat owners
or operators in accidents involving the non-use of PFDs,
Canadian courts are not agreed on the factors
determining liability or standards of reasonable care,
thus the legal front is confused by the lack of a standard.
Another issue is the economic impact of the needless
loss of life, when taking lifetime earnings, medical costs
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and other factors such as maintenance of search and
rescue assets, the costs are very high.
Lack of training and inexperience, plus an
overconfidence of swimming ability probably are the
largest hurdles to wearing a PFD. In Canada, water
temperature is a large factor in boating fatalities, but
almost half of the canoe & kayak fatalities in the U. S.
between 1996 and 2000 occurred in water over 65
degrees. Cold water is a threat even in Florida. The
National Transportation Safety Board has reports
reinforcing these claims, and says that the majority of
people who perish while wearing their jacket died
because of hypothermia.
Seat belt and bike helmet legislation could be good
models to compare PFD wear to. Once seat belts began
showing up in automobiles, persuasion campaigns failed
to get them on 20% of the occupants of vehicles.
However, over the years, mandatory wear laws were
enacted and those percentages have climbed to over
80% wearing their belts. Even with a catchy Buckle Up
for Safety slogan, it took legislation to persuade the
public that everyone really needed to buckle up. Bike
helmets are on the same track. And when one
considers the effort and money spent on asking people
to wear their PFD, the similarities are striking.
This whole issue is about saving lives. Those in the
boating safety business advocate wearing a jacket. Law
Enforcement agencies and true professionals put on a
jacket in a small boat. However, we see over 50% of
people in a canoe not wearing a jacket, yet require a
person on a Personal Water Craft to wear one,
something is off course. Statistics show that the vast
majority of deaths in boating accidents happened on
boats under 22 feet, and were completely unexpected.
Putting a jacket on everyone in that category would be
the single most effective way to reduce those deaths.
I know that this will be a long haul, that there are many
players, and across this nation it will bump along, as has
countless other legislative initiatives. I would
recommend that every serious boater study this issue
and consider the effects it could have on our sport. We
wear the right gear to play all sorts of games, and lately
we require our kids to wear their jackets on the water.
Why not the same standard for us?
I invite you to read the Canadian Research Project, a
compelling recommendation for mandatory wear. It can
be found at www.csbc.ca . There are many other
documents addressing this issue in various ways,
Critical J udgment by the American Canoe Association,
the J SI Study previously mentioned, Saving Lives and
Preventing Boating-Related Accidents by NASBLA, and
a host of presentations offered at the International
Boating & Water Safety Summit, reported in their
Proceedings. Approach this issue with an open mind;
we need your counsel.

MEET OUR DEPARTMENTS NEWEST MEMBER
Tony Lorenc, DVC-BS
The Boating Department takes great pleasure in
introducing a new Branch Chief in the States Division.
Robert E. Sterzenbach, from the sleepy Southern
California town of San J uan Capistrano in the 11th
Southern District, will be coordinating the State Liaison
Officers in the Pacific Region. Bob and his wife of 40
years, Ulah, have four adult children, one living in
Australia, one in Kansas, and the others nearby. They
also have five grandchildren. They have enjoyed the
annual return of the fabled swallows to their hometown,
although not in the numbers of the past since the birds
now prefer to fly further inland to the Colorado River.
Bob joined the CG Auxiliary in 1975 and worked his way
up the elected and appointed positions, and just finished
two years as RCO, a position that he truly loved because
it afforded him a great deal of interface with the
membership. He is a certified TQM facilitator and has
facilitated many key Quality Action Teams for his district.
Being AUXOP, he loves operations and is a QE. He
also patrols on his PWC facility at the nearby lakes and
Dana Point Harbor, which is five miles from Capistrano.
As a new member of the States Division, Bob is looking
forward to the interface with the state boating offices
through the SLOs in the Pacific Area. His incredible
experience, attitude and positive disposition sum his
enthusiasm best when he stated, I believe it is a
valuable, proactive Auxiliary function, and will give it my
full attention.
His hobbies are boating/sailing, fishing, traveling, digital
photography, and helping (we hope) his wife collect
antique Depression glass that she loves. Hes a retired
(2 years) electro-mechanical engineer, having worked 43
years for Endevco, a company that makes a variety of
transducers. He still does some consulting work in the
field of shock and vibration.
We look forward to Bobs contributions to the Boating
Department, the SLO program and most especially, the
enhancement of public boating safety.
GREAT NEWS FROM BOATU.S. FOUNDATION
REGARDING BOTH RECREATIONAL BOATING SAFETY
GRANTS AND THE CLEAN WATER GRANTS PROGRAM
Ed Sweeney, DVC-BR
First off, I hope that everyone had a festive holiday
season and is ready to get back to doing Auxiliary work.
Lets Do Even More in 2004!
I also come bearing very good news! The BoatU.S.
Foundation recently announced that fifteen units will
receive a total of $24,000 in funding for local projects to
promote recreational boating safety.
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Listed below are the winning Auxiliary units, along with a
brief description of their projects that will receive funding:
Flotilla 95, D7, will receive $1,000 to print and
distribute 1500 Hurricane Preparedness
Booklets.
Flotilla 16-6, D9CR, will receive $2,500 to
purchase a display tent and equipment, a
display board and case, a Fatal Vision Kit, and
other display equipment.
Flotilla 53, D1SR, will receive $3,000 to
produce 2500 Spanish language Safe Boating
in New York Harbor brochures.
Flotilla 71, D5SR, will receive $500 to purchase
educational supplies to help promote safe and
fun boating for children in the Smith Island area.
Flotilla 22, D1SR, will receive $600 to distribute
300 temporary CO Detectors and educational
informational letters provided by the BoatU.S.
Foundation.
Flotilla 18, D5SR, will receive $1,200 to
produce a CO hot topic program that could
include: reprinting of materials, marketing signs,
mailers, packets for trainees, and a presentation
by a professional trainer.
Flotilla 39, D11NR, will receive $4,950 to install
a VHF repeater system that will improve radio
communications on Lake Shasta.
Division 10, D11SR, will receive $1,050 to
produce 125 signs to be affixed to marina fuel
pumps that describe proper fueling procedures
and the harms of CO exposure.
Flotilla 44, D7, will receive $1,540 to produce
24 signs that will be placed at local boat ramps
promoting vessel safety checks.
Flotilla 12-91, D11NR, will receive $2,100 to
produce 10 CO displays and posters to be used
at various local events.
Flotilla 13-6, D5NR, will receive $525 to
distribute 250 temporary CO Detectors and
educational informational letters provided by the
BoatUS Foundation.
Flotilla 64, D5SR, will receive $155 to upgrade
their visual display booth.
District 8WR will receive $780 to purchase 80
"Where Do We Stand" CO videos to be used for
educational purposes.
Flotilla 10-13, D1SR, will receive $3,200 to
produce 4000 charts of the New York/New
J ersey Greenwood Lake.
Flotilla 76, D1NR will receive $1,000 to support
their boating safety childrens education
program.
Congratulations to all the units and their leaders who
received funding. BRAVO ZULU!
However, congratulations also go out to those units who
took the time to apply for the BoatU.S. RBS Grants. A
total of 51 Auxiliary units submitted applications,
requesting a total of $149,000 for projects dealing with
recreational boating safety. The Auxiliary accounted for
a whopping 63 percent of the total applications,
according to David Carter from the BoatU.S.Foundation.
To those who were not selected this year, I offer you a
bit of sage advice: If at first you do not succeed, try,
try again! Look for CY 05 RBS applications on the
Whats New page shortly after 1 J une 2004.
But Im not through yet! I recently spoke with J oni
Sralla-Turken, Program Administrator for the BoatU.S.
Clean Water Grants Program. J oni stated that as of the
date of this writing, she has received 15 applications
from the Auxiliary, a whopping 400 percent increase of
the total received last year!
The deadline isnt here quite yet, and I am personally
aware of some units who have not submitted
applications. They are literally burning the midnight oil to
get their application in via email or postmarked before
the 2 February 2004 midnight deadline.
So although it has been a great year for grants, I dont
want us to rest on our laurels. I know with everyones
help, we can make 2004 an even more memorable year!
IMORTANT BOATING DATES FOR 2004
Ed Sweeney, DVC-BR
The following are some key boating safety dates to mark
on your calendar NOW, and begin to plan accordingly for
TODAY!
IBWSS: 17-22 April 2004 Panama City, FL
National Safe Kids Week: 1-8 May 2004
North American Safe Boating Week:
22-28 May 2004
VSC Mega Month: 22 May thru 4 J uly 2004
National Marina Day, 14 August 2004.
One last thing: please remember to post your own local
boating safety events on the National Safe Boating
Councils web site events page located at
http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/events/events.htm


Distribution: Via direct email from BC-BRN to:
NEXCOM, N-H, G-OPB-2, G-OCX-1, GOCX-2. Upon
receipt, DCOs are encouraged to copy and/or
provide the widest possible dissemination to DCPs;
DCPs are further requested to provide the widest
possible dissemination to FCs. Upon receipt, FCs
are asked to copy and provide copies to Flotilla
members.