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FWC to boaters: stay alert, stay safe
May 22, 2007
Contacts: Officer Jorge Pino (561) 723-1417;
Dani Moschella (772) 215-9459
As the weather heats up and Florida boaters get
ready to hit the water, the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC) has a few tips to help them stay
safe on the water.
“There are two things every boater can do to
keep a fun day from turning deadly -- stay alert and always wear
a life jacket,” FWC Major Brett Norton said. “We’ve already had
32 boating fatalities this year, and three boaters are missing.
Those tragic statistics are worse than at this time last year.”
The FWC and its law enforcement partners in
marine safety will kick off the busy Memorial Day boating
weekend with a demonstration of how effective the new type of
automatically or manually inflatable life jackets can be when a
boater goes overboard.
WHAT: Multi-agency boating safety news
conferences and life jacket demonstration
WHEN: Friday, May 25 (9:30 a.m. and 2
p.m.)
WHERE: Boynton Beach Boat Club Park (9:30
a.m.)
2210 N. Federal Hwy.
Boynton Beach
Watson Island boat ramp (2 p.m.)
MacArthur Causeway
Miami
“Most crashes happen because of operator
inattentiveness, and most accident victims who die drown because
they aren’t wearing life jackets. It’s that simple,” Norton
said.
New, easy-to-wear life jackets could help
prevent boating deaths. They are lightweight and unobtrusive
until they touch water and inflate.
For more information on boating safety and
complete boating accident statistics, visit
MyFWC.com/law/boating/. |
