DBW-50thAnnBook-PROOF

E NH A NC I NG P U B L I C S A F E T Y ON T HE WA T E R

Cal Boating’s accident and boating safety programs take accident statistics – where accidents happen, what the trends are, where improvements are needed – and transform that information into education and safety publications, multimedia outreach campaigns, law enforcement initiatives, and recommendations to the Legislature. Historically, Cal Boating collected data annually from boating accident reports and provided it to the Coast Guard. In 1993, the department decided to use accident statistics to put together the first Boating Accident Report . Later renamed the Boating Safety Report , this annual publication is intended to increase awareness of boating safety by detailing where accidents were happening, who was having them, and the types and causes of these accidents. Many variables impact boating accident rates. In the 1970s and early 1980s, boating accidents resulted in a high rate of fatalities. Some 59 percent of those accidents were alcohol-related. Before 1986, California lacked a clear definition of “intoxication” for a vessel operator. In 1987, state law made it illegal to operate a vessel with a blood alcohol level of .10 percent or more. In 1991, this level was reduced to .08 percent, so that the same rules about driving a car while intoxicated also applied to operating a boat. The number of boating fatalities has decreased since that legislation was passed. In 1998, a new state law raised the boat operating age from 12 to 16 and outlawed radical maneuvers such as “donuts” and cutting through boat wakes by personal watercraft operators. But greater public awareness of the importance of boating safety was needed. So Cal Boating initiated a new media campaign developed from information collected by the boating accident program. The campaign targeted boaters who were more likely to be involved in accidents and aired

Aquatic and boating safety skills learned at an early age will protect students throughout their lives.

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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007