AMERICAN BOATING SAFETY STATISTICS IMPROVED IN 2018

NMMA

Sept 10, 2019

The NMMA newsletter wrote that the U.S. Coast Guard released its 2018 Recreational Boating Statistics Report last week, revealing that there were 633 boating fatalities nationwide in 2018, a 3.8 percent decrease from 2017. Improving safety on the water is a key pillar of NMMA’s mission and the association works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard to advance these efforts.

From 2017 to 2018, overall recreational boating injuries also decreased 4.5 percent (2,629 to 2,511), and the total number of accidents decreased 3.4 percent (4,291 to 4,145). Alcohol continued to be the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents in 2018, accounting for 100 deaths, or 19 percent of total fatalities.

“It is heartbreaking to realize that more than 100 people could still be alive today had alcohol use been curbed,” said Captain Scott Johnson, chief of the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety at Coast Guard Headquarters.

To view the full 2018 Recreational Boating Statistics report, visit https://uscgboating.org/library/accident-statistics/Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2018.pdf.  

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