Western Outdoor Times - Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!

All figures are from the U.S. Coast Guard's 2012 Recreational Boating Safety Statistics, the latest official record of reported recreational boating accidents. The full report is available online at: http://www.USCGBoating.org/statistics/accident_statistics.aspx.

• Drowning was reported as the cause of death in almost three-fourths of all fatalities.

• Approximately 85 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.

• In 2012, the Coast Guard counted 4,515 accidents that involved 651 deaths, 3,000 injuries and approximately $38 million dollars of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents.

• Approximately 14 percent of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had received boating safety instruction.

• Operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, machinery failure and excessive speed are 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 17 percent of the deaths.

• Twenty-four children under age thirteen lost their lives while boating in 2012. Forty-two percent of the children who died in 2012 did so from drowning.

• The most common types of vessels involved in reported accidents were open motorboats (47%), personal watercraft (19%) and cabin motorboats (15%).

National Recreational Boating Statistics

• Fatalities: 651

• Drownings: 459

• Injuries (requiring medical treatment beyond first aid): 3,000

• Boating Accidents: 4,515

• Property Damage: $38,011,601

• Number of registered recreational boats in the U.S .: 12,101,936