Arctic Science Journeys
Radio Script
1996

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Safe Boating
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STORY: If this summer is like most summers in Alaska, more than 60 people will drown in boating accidents on the state's rivers and lakes. That makes drowning a leading cause of death in the state. Jerry Dzugan is the director of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association.

"It's a close number two to the number one cause, which is automobile accidents. Also, if you get away from the roaded areas of the state, like Anchorage and Fairbanks, you eliminate those two areas of the state, you would find that it would be the number one cause of unintentional death in rural areas."

Dzugan says most boating deaths occur when people drown after being thrown into the water when their boat hits a rock or a submerged log. But too often, other factors are to blame. Jennifer Lincoln is a federal safety specialist who tracks boating fatalities in the state. She says many people die because they didn't wear a life jacket, or PFD.

"Very few people who are drowning are wearing PFDs. We've also looked at alcohol and it seems a lot of people are drinking alcohol when they drown."

Alaska does have laws aimed at increasing safety in boats. Drinking and driving any motorized vehicle is illegal. Life jackets for every person must be on board, and children under the age of thirteen are required to wear them. But Alaska is the only state that does not have a safe boating law, something Jerry Dzugan says would bring federal dollars to Alaska for safe boating education programs.

"What that law does, besides putting into state law some requirements for safety on boats, it also makes federal money available to states to do safe boating programs. It's based on population and the number boats, but the state of Alaska would probably come into about 350 thousand dollars."

Still, some areas of the state have launched education programs on their own. Programs in villages along the Kuskokwim River, for example, offer life jackets at cost to boaters. For Arctic Science Journeys, this is Debra Damron.