The 2007 PFD
report is on the USCG Boating Safety web page. Not sure how long it has been there, but I hadn't seen this one before.
It basically shows very little change in lifejacket wear over the last 10 years for adults, with wear rates staying at about 8-9%. However, wear rates for 6-12 year olds are at record highs (84%), though there were small dips for under 6 (92%) and teens (32-34%).
Given that the 2007 boating accident
report continues to show that boat-related factors covered by VSCs account for a tiny number of accidents and fatalities and that drowning due to a lack of lifejacket wear accounts for most deaths, and since most vessels involved in accidents didn't have lifejackets on board, should we consider significantly modifying the VSC program?
I know the VSC program has a long history, but as I've said before, it just doesn't seem to directly address the most important factors in recreational boating safety.
How about if our VSC program were reduced to just checking for the proper number and condition of life jackets and a short spiel on wearing them, with reminders about applicable laws for children? This would cut the check down 5 minutes or less rather than 15-20 and would just hit the high points.
Sure, the current VSC addresses a lot of issues of concern to the CG from registration to environmental issues, but wouldn't it be better to do 3-4 times as many contacts that would be entirely focused on life-saving measures rather than worrying about if the boat numbers are properly displayed (which no law enforcement agency really cares about anyway)?
There is some evidence that the people getting VSCs are probably already generally good boaters. According to stats
here, 97% of those who got VSCs passed the PFD requirement which doesn't really square with other stats very well. Even overall, 75% of those who got a VSC passed, so the check really didn't accomplish a whole lot with them.
So, if we reduce the focus of the check to just lifejackets we cut down on time spent with each boater, vastly increase the amount of time spent on the message that could do the most to save lives, probably increase the number of people you get a chance to successfully contact, and increase the total number of people contacted.
At the same time we would reduce the amount of paperwork we need to fill out. Each examiner would just need to record the number of total contacts, and the number of boats where they got to do a full lifejacket check.
Heck, you could get almost your entire message across to people who would not be at all interested in taking the time for a standard VSC if we focused our efforts. Even if they don't want you to check their lifejackets you have time to give them a parting sentence or two as you walk away.
We could still offer the traditional VSC on an request basis through the internet "I want a VSC" site.
