The Safe Boating Council has these guidelines:

Try It On

• Check the manufacturer’s ratings for your size and weight.
• Make sure the life jacket is properly zipped or buckled.
• Raise your arms straight up over your head while wearing your life jacket and ask a friend to grasp the tops of the arm openings, gently pulling up.
• If there is excess room above the openings and the life jacket rides up over your chin or face, it does NOT fit properly. A snug fit in these areas signals a properly fitting life jacket.

Fit Facts

• It is extremely important that you choose a properly fitting life jacket.
• Life jackets that are too big will cause the flotation device to push up around your face, which could be dangerous.
• Life jackets that are too small will not be able to keep your body afloat.

Important Reminders

• Make sure your life jacket is U.S. Coast Guard approved.
• Double check that your life jacket is appropriate for your favorite water activities.
• Take the time to ensure a proper fit. A life jacket that is too large or too small can cause different situational problems.
• Life jackets meant for adults do not work for children. If you are boating with children, make sure they are wearing properly fitted, child-sized life jackets. Do not buy a life jacket for your child to “grow into.”

All figures are from the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2012 Recreational Boating Safety Statistics, the latest official record of reported recreational boating accidents. The full report is available online at: www.USCGBoating.org/statistics/accident_statistics.aspx.

• Drowning was reported as the cause of death in almost three-fourths of all fatalities.
• Approximately 85 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.
• In 2012, the Coast Guard counted 4,515 accidents that involved 651 deaths, 3,000 injuries and approximately $38 million dollars of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents.
• Approximately 14 percent of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had received boating safety instruction.
• Operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, machinery failure and excessive speed are 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 17 percent of the deaths.
• Twenty-four children under age thirteen lost their lives while boating in 2012. Forty-two percent of the children who died in 2012 did so from drowning.
• The most common types of vessels involved in reported accidents were open motorboats (47%), personal watercraft (19%) and cabin motorboats (15%).

National Recreational Boating Statistics

• Fatalities: 651
• Drownings: 459
• Injuries (requiring medical treatment beyond first aid): 3,000
• Boating Accidents: 4,515
• Property Damage: $38,011,601
• Number of registered recreational boats in the U.S.: 12,101,936

Unfortunately, Texas is the number 3 state for boating deaths and the number 4 state for boating accidents.

Remember to be safe.  Don’t let you or your family become another statistic.

U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in almost three-fourths of recreational boating fatalities in 2012 and that 85 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.

I know when I was a kid and my dad lived on Lake Austin, I couldn’t wait to turn 14 so I wouldn’t have to wear a life jacket.  Frankly, I was an idiot.  Too many things can easily go wrong if you’re not wearing your life jacket.  In most emergencies, you won’t have time to get life jackets out of storage and pass out to all your guests.  Or heaven forbid you hit your head on something and get knocked unconscious.  Wearing a life jacket in advance is the only way to protect you in those circumstances.

Don’t let your vanity cost you your life.

Over the course of the week, I’ll have a few posts detailing the dangers and safety measures related to safe boating.  For today, I’ll give you the big overview of what you should do to make your trips out on our waterways just a little safer.

1. Avoid drinking and driving. This should go without saying, but a significant percentage of boating accidents involve alcohol.  Even worse, being on the water magnifies the effects of alcohol.  I’ve heard that one drink on the water is equal to four drinks on land.  I’m not sure that’s completely accurate, but it’s probably close.

2. Use your lights. Austin Lake Police have indicated that one of the biggest risks of danger is night time collisions.

3. Wear your life vest. The law requires you to have one life jacket on the boat for each person.  But if something goes wrong, you might not have the opportunity to grab a life jacket from storage.  Be safe and wear it instead.

4. Look out for others. As the lake crowds increase, make sure you are cognizant of other skiiers, tubers and wakeboarders. And always remember that as you follow, they could fall in an instant. On the other hand, when you voluntarily stop to get in and out of the water, make sure that you are doing so in as safe a place as possible.