Boating Safety Statistics

2010 Boating Accident Statistics Available

The Coast Guard's Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety today released its Recreational Boating Statistics 2010 report, which reveals a 8.69 percent decrease in boating accident deaths and a 6.1 percent decrease in related injuries.

The number of boating accidents decreased 2.67 percent.

The Coast Guard recorded 672 deaths, 3,153 injuries and approximately $36 million in property damage stemming from 4,604 recreational boating accidents in 2010. Only nine percent of deaths occurred on boats where the operator has received boating safety instruction.

"The data in the 2010 publication echoes the message that life jacket wear is critical," said Rear Adm. Kevin Cook, the Coast Guard's director of prevention policy. "Nearly 75 percent of the 672 people who died in boating accidents in 2010 drowned and 88 percent of those victims reportedly were not wearing a life jacket. The two most important things boaters can do to prevent the loss of life is to wear a life jacket and take a boater education course."

Review the statistics here.