Coast Guard reminds boaters to carry enough life jackets
July 7, 2016 11:09 am
MILWAUKEE — The United States Coast Guard reminds boaters that all recreational and pleasure boats must carry one wearable life jacket for each person aboard; otherwise their voyages may be ended.
With the summer boating season well underway, responders at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, located in Milwaukee, have seen a large number of recreational boats on Lake Michigan not carrying the required number of wearable life jackets on board.
This unsafe condition, which often cannot be corrected on the spot, results in a termination of a voyage. This is an order for the operator of a vessel to return to a safe location, such as a dock or mooring, until the unsafe condition is corrected. For some, this could mean the end of a fun day on the water with family and friends.
Vessels under 16 feet in length must carry one life jacket for each person aboard. Vessels more than 16 feet in length must carry one life jacket for each person aboard and one throwable personal floatation device for the vessel.
The throwable PFD must be immediately accessible, which means it must be within an arm’s reach of a passenger at all times.
The Coast Guard is committed to keeping boaters safe, and takes the rules regarding life jackets very seriously. In 2015, 626 boaters died on our nation’s waterways. Where the cause of death was known, 76 percent of fatal boating accident victims drowned; of those drowning victims, 85 percent were not wearing a lifejacket.
“Being on the water, especially cold Lake Michigan water, your life is inherently threatened," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Ed Briganti, Sector Lake Michigan’s senior maritime law enforcement specialist. "If you were to go into the water, a properly fitting life jacket will likely save your life as it keeps you afloat, even if you’re unconscious. The bottom line is they work.”
Children under the age of 13 are required to wear a properly fitting life jacket at all times while aboard a boat. However, the Coast Guard highly encourages all boaters regardless of age or experience to wear a life jacket at all times as well.
For more information about the selection, use, wear and care of life jackets please go to https://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5214/pfdselection.asp.