Boating Statistics 2009 Presentation to the National Boating Safety Advisory Council 16 April 2010 Susan Tomczuk Boating Safety Division U.S. Coast Guard Susan.M.Tomczuk@uscg.mil 202-372-1103

Disclaimer This presentation on 2009 boating statistics is unique because It represents a study of state-specific data, not national data For the most part, numbers are not included! The reason why USCG is providing numberless, state-specific data is because not all national data has been validated and approved for dissemination. Boating Statistics 2009

Introduction This presentation focuses on data from California and will address the following areas: Registration Numbers Fatality Rate The Three Pillars of the RBS Program Life Jacket Use Operator Education Alcohol Use Hot Issues The Role of Manually-propelled Craft The Role of Technology in Accidents Boating Statistics 2009

Percent Change in Registration Registration Numbers Vessel Registration 2009 906,988* 2008 858,853 2007 964,881 2006 893,828 2005 963,758 2004 894,884 Percent Change in Registration 2008-2009 5.60%* 2007-2008 -10.99% 2006-2007 7.95% 2005-2006 -7.26% 2004-2005 7.70% *indicates tentative numbers Boating Statistics 2009

Percent Change in Registration Registration Numbers Vessel Registration 2009 12,695,858 2008 12,692,892 2007 12,875,568 2006 12,746,126 2005 12,942,414 2004 12,781,476 Percent Change in Registration 2008-2009 0.02% 2007-2008 -1.42% 2006-2007 1.02% 2005-2006 -1.52% 2004-2005 1.26% *indicates tentative numbers Boating Statistics 2009

Fatality Rate Boating Statistics 2009 The fatality rate represents the number of deaths per 100,000 registered vessels. *The 2009 fatality rate is tentative Boating Statistics 2009

Fatality Rate Boating Statistics 2009 The fatality rate represents the number of deaths per 100,000 registered vessels. Boating Statistics 2009

Part 1 of The Pillars: Life Jackets Percentages by Deaths and PFD Usage by Cause of Death, CA, 2009   % Deaths % of Victims Wearing their PFD Drowning 63% 28% Trauma 30% 50% Unknown 7% 33% Of those who died, 63% drowned, 30% died from trauma and the cause of death for 7% of victims is unknown Of those who drowned, 72% were not wearing a life jacket. Boating Statistics 2009

Part 2 of The Pillars: Education In California in 2009, 30% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had education. The majority of these deaths (92%) occurred on boats where the operator had informal education. Boating Statistics 2009

Part 3 of The Pillars: Alcohol Use In California in 2009, 15% of deaths occurred in accidents where alcohol use was listed as a cause (primary, secondary, tertiary or “other”) of the accident. Boating Statistics 2009

Hot Topic 1: Manually-propelled Craft In California in 2009, 21% of deaths occurred on vessels that were manually-propelled. Boating Statistics 2009

Hot Topic 2: Technology There have been a lot of requests for data on the role of technology in boating accidents. Such technology includes GPS, cell phones, depth finders, computers and televisions. A search for such key words in the narrative demonstrated that in California in 2009, the use of technology contributed to less than 1% of accidents, 4% of deaths and 0.5% of injuries. Boating Statistics 2009

Wrap up USCG is still reviewing 2009 data. Recreational Boating Statistics 2009 will likely be published in June 2010. Boating Statistics 2009