Open Water Safety North Dakota Conference on Injury Prevention Scott Tichy Park Ranger US Army Corps of Engineers Open Water Safety North Dakota Conference on Injury Prevention Scott Tichy Park Ranger US Army Corps of Engineers

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date2 Who is at Risk?

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date3 Who is at Risk? Adults age Children under 10 more likely to drown at home. Males Men are 4 times more likely to drown than women. Adults who don’t wear their PFD. Only 9 % of adults wear a PFD while boating.

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date4 Statistics

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date5 More Statistics

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date6 “Sink Fast”

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date7 Where do the drownings occur? The majority of adult open water fatalities involve a boat. The majority of juvenile open water fatalities occur while swimming, often in undesignated areas.

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date8 It’s all about wearing these…

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date9 What Needs to Be Done? Get adults to wear PFD’s in moving boats. Current PFD use by adults runs around 9%. Reduce the use of Alcohol while boating. Alcohol is involved in nearly 25% of boating fatalities. Get adults to take a boating operators course. The majority of boat operators have never had boat training of any kind.

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date10 What needs to be done? continued Discourage swimming in undesignated areas. Increase the use of lifeguards in designated swimming areas. CDC research says that there is less than 1 in 18 million chance of drowning with a certified lifeguard on duty.

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date11 How do we do it? Enforcement Step up enforcement of existing boating laws. More enforcement of boating laws by all agencies not just Game and Fish and Feds.

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date12 How do we do it? Education Increase boat safety checks at area boat landings. Increase the number of water/boating safety courses. Especially those focused at adults.

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date13 How do we do it? Legislation Create a PFD requirement similar to seatbelt law. Create a requirement for boating operators license.

One Corps Serving the Armed Forces and the Nation Version date14 Resources U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices in these cities: Bismarck, ; Jamestown, ; Valley City, ; Fargo, ; and Riverdale, Water Safety Website: North Dakota Safety Council, Inc., at or ND Game and Fish; Water Safety Coordinator: Nancy Boldt, Bismarck US Coast Guard BoatUS National Safe Boating Council