Talk and Act
Deaths from boating accidents in Tennessee are on an upward trend.
Last year’s 22 fatalities are the most in the past five years, more than doubling the 2005 total of 10 deaths. So far in 2010, 11 people have died as a result of a boating accident so the state could be on pace to set a grim new record.
More and more people are drawn each year to the beauty and fun that await at Middle Tennessee’s many lakes. Unfortunately, the capacity at Percy Priest, Old Hickory, Center Hill, Dale Hollow and other lakes can’t expand to accommodate the crowds.
As more speedboats, pleasure boats, fishing boats and personal watercraft take off across the water, congestion increases and so does the possibility of accidents that result in severe personal injury and death.
Folks with lots of boating experience know the dangers that can come from operators who either don’t care or don’t know how to safely share the water with other recreational boaters.
Nashville lawyer Mitch Grissim’s love of the water led him to get his U.S. Coast Guard Captain license. His years on the water with family and friends provide a knowledge of what it takes to avoid accidents by safely maintaining and operating a boat.
Not enough people at the helm of boats feel a need for similar preparation before ripping across crowded lakes. Too many see a lake as some sort of private playground with no rules and no consequences for reckless behavior.
About 80% of the operators involved in a boating accident have not taken a boating safety education course, according to U.S. Coast Guard statistics. Operator inexperience is a common contributing factor to boating accidents, but operator carelessness or recklessness was the cause of the highest number of accidents in 2008.
Other contributing factors were operator inattention, no proper lookout, passenger/skier behavior, excessive speed and alcohol use. While alcohol was a contributing factor in fewer accidents, alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents.
National statistics for recreational boating in 2008 show that 4,789 accidents led to 709 deaths, 3,331 injuries and about $54 million in property damage.
The most common accident types were collision with vessel, flooding/swamping, collision with fixed objects, falling overboard and skier mishap. The accidents leading to the most deaths were falls overboard.
Personal injury is more likely to be suffered in a crash with another boat or fixed object and may well be more severe than auto accidents. Boats are not designed to provide protection for occupants, and since it happens on water, deaths often come from drowning after the accident.
Sadly, many of those deaths may have been prevented had the victim been wearing a life jacket. All boats must have a Coast Guard approved life jacket on board for each person on the vessel, but laws don’t require each person to be wearing the life jacket. However, every state does have regulations for life jacket wear by children.
Get to know Nashville Accident Lawyer Mitch Grissim, by watching his videos here.
The best life jacket is one you wear! Life jackets can save lives in a number of circumstances, including when you are:
capsized in rough water
thrown from a boat after a collision
injured by rocks or submerged objects
unconscious from carbon monoxide fumes.
According to the 2008 findings, drowning was the cause of 510 deaths: of those casualties, 459 were not wearing a life jacket, 46 were wearing one and in 5 cases it’s not known if the victim wore a life jacket.
Trauma led to 124 deaths, of which 90 victims did not have on a life jacket, 33 did and 1 is unknown.
The Coast Guard points out that their statistics are probably incomplete because boating accidents are primarily self-reported. Federal law requires a boating accident be reported depending on the crash injuries, property damage and other factors. Regardless, a significant portion of boating accidents go unreported.
It really comes down to personal responsibility – those who operate boats need to make sure they know the rules and safety guidelines. Recreational boaters must take the time to familiarize themselves with proper operation of the vessel and the regulations that apply to that boating area.
There’s a lot of summer boating weather to enjoy, so make the most of it.
Boat safely out there!
Read more at Mitch Grissim’s Nashville Accident Lawyer Legal Blog.
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Tags: boating accidents
Posted in Boating · July 15th, 2010 · Comments (0)
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