US Coast Guard Recreational Boating Statistics 2009

2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• In 2009, the Coast Guard counted 4730 accidents that involved 736 deaths,
3358 injuries and approximately $36 million dollars of damage to property as a result
of recreational boating accidents.
• The fatality rate was 5.8 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.
This rate represents a 3.6% increase from last year’s fatality rate of 5.6
deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.
• Compared to 2008, the number of accidents decreased 1.23%, the number
of deaths increased 3.81% and the number of injuries increased 0.81%.
• Almost three-fourths of all fatal boating accident victims drowned, and of those,
eighty-four (84) percent were not reported as wearing a life jacket.
• Only fourteen percent of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had received
boating safety instruction.
• Seven out of every ten boaters who drowned were using boats less than 21 feet in
length.
• Operator inattention, operator inexperience, excessive speed, improper lookout and
alcohol rank as 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 16% of the deaths.
• Eighteen children under age thirteen lost their lives while boating in 2009. 50% of the
children who died in 2009 died from drowning. 44% of those who drowned were
wearing a life jacket as required to do so by state law.
• The most common types of vessels involved in reported accidents were open
motorboats (46%), personal watercraft (22%), and cabin motorboats (14%).
• The 12,721,541 boats registered by the states in 2009 represent a 0.23%
increase from last year when 12,692,892 boats were registered.

READ THE ENTIRE REPORT AT http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/workflow_staging/Publications/388.PDF