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Corps of Engineers Column
 Refresh
Your Boating Safety Skills with Many Options
by Ginger Bjornson, Park Ranger
Summer is in full swing and what
better time to brush up on boating safety? From reminders to wear
life jackets to having your boat voluntarily inspected for proper
safety equipment, there are many chances to make this season a safe
one for you, your family and friends.
Wear a life jacket
Life jacket wear is critical to
surviving a boating accident. Nine out of 10 drowning victims were
not wearing life jackets. This single device may make the difference
between life and death for anyone experiencing an emergency on the
water.
Put it on before leaving the
dock and keep it on. Be sure it is properly fitted, in good
condition, and securely fastened. Children under age 10 are required
by law to wear a life jacket while on board a moving boat (unless
the child is in a fully enclosed cabin).
About 70 percent of boaters
involved in accidents have never taken a safe boating course and 85
percent of all boating accident fatalities nationwide were due to
sudden, unexpected capsizing or falls overboard. We know that
education and awareness are the best weapons in preventing boating
accidents. “Safe Boating is No Accident!” Here are some boating
safety tips to help you start our right and complete your journey
safely.
Take a boating safety course
Brush up on your boating safety
knowledge. There are three easy ways for boat operators to take a
course in Georgia – in a classroom, on the internet at
www.boat-ed.com
or through a home study course that can be ordered either on the
internet at
www.boat-ed.com or by calling 1-800-460-9698. The U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 22 offers hands-on classroom boating safety
courses; you can check out their schedule at
www.boatingclasses@usa.com.
Know the laws
There are no “driving lanes” on
the water, so boaters need to be know the “Rules of the Road,” from
knowing who has the right-of-way, understanding waterway markers and
being knowledgeable about safe boating speeds based on traffic,
weather, and maneuverability.
Georgia boating laws require
that you adhere to the 100- foot rule. The 100-foot rule prohibits
people from operating all vessels, including personal watercraft
(PWC), at a speed greater than idle speed within 100 feet of any
vessel that is moored, anchored, or adrift outside normal traffic
channels, or within 100 feet of any dock, wharf, pier, piling,
bridge structure, person in the water or shoreline adjacent to a
full-time or part-time residence, public park, public beach, public
swimming area, marina, restaurant, or other public use area.
Don’t drink and operate a
boat
Half of all boating fatalities
involve alcohol. Research has shown that four hours in a boat on the
water being exposed to noise, vibration sun, glare, wind and other
motion on the water produces a boater’s hypnosis” or fatigue. It
slows reaction time as much as if you were legally drunk. Adding
alcohol to boating stress factors intensifies their effects. Think
before you take that drink.
Get a vessel safety
inspection
When you are out on the water,
you want to have fun. And you can put your mind at ease by getting a
vessel safety check to assure that you have the proper safety
equipment and are familiar with safe boating guidelines.
Vessel safety inspections are
voluntary and free and can be done by a certified inspector with the
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Two vessel safety check events are
scheduled at Blockhouse Ramp on Allatoona Lake: Friday, July 4, from
9 a.m. to noon and Saturday, August 30, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Here are some of the questions
that will be answered if you have a vessel safety inspection:
• Is your boat in top operating
condition?
• Is all required safety
equipment on board and in good condition?
• Is your safety equipment
readily accessible?
• Do you know how to properly
use your equipment?
• Is there a life jacket on
board for you and every passenger that is properly fitted, in good
condition and US Coast Guard approved?
The US Coast Guard Auxiliary
does these checks as part of its boating safety awareness campaign.
If the dates above do not work for you, please contact Pat Lindsey
with the U.S. Coast Auxiliary at 678-793-6958 or at
patbylind@yahoo.com.
This column is provided by
the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Allatoona Lake project.
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