The Coast Guard has released its boating accident report for 2009, and as Texas boating accident lawyers would expect, the biggest factors contributing to boat accidents in 2009 were related to the human factor.
The five main causes of boat accidents last year were operator error, operator experience, alcohol use, excessive speeds and improper lookout. All of these factors relate to human inadequacies or errors made by humans. In fact, 98% of accidents last year could be traced to these factors, while only the remaining 2% could be traced to mechanical malfunctioning.
There was a slight drop in boating accidents in 2009. However, there was an increase in boat accident fatalities and injuries in the same year. While the number of accidents actually decreased by 1.23%, the number of deaths increased by 3.81% and injuries increased by .81%.
The Coast Guard report has several lessons about accident and fatality prevention. Alcohol use was the number one factor in boating accidents in 2009, and contributed to 16% of all fatalities. Seven out of every 10 boaters who died were in a vessel that measured less than 21 feet in length. In fact, the most common types of boats that were involved in accidents were open motorboats and personal watercraft. More people died in accidents involving canoes and kayaks than in 2008. There were 132 deaths in these craft in 2009, compared to 114 the previous year. 86 percent of the accident fatalities occurred on a boat whose operator had not received boating safety training of any sort. A majority of the people, who died, drowned, and most of these persons were not wearing personal flotation devices.
The lessons to be learnt here are simple-
- Never mix alcohol with boating.
- Use a bigger vessel, or at least take extra precautions when you’re on a smaller boat.
- No matter what the size of the boat, wear a life jacket at all times.
- Never get on a boat with an operator who has zero safety training.
