How About Those Kids?

How about those kids? That's right, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and all the rest. We all take them with us on our boats. The kids love it, and so do we. And we love the kids too. That's why we all need to obey the U.S. Coast Guard's Life Jacket Rule.

On December 23, 2002, the U.S. Coast Guard's "Life Jacket Rule" went into effect. The rule requires all children under the age of 13 wear a life jacket on recreational vessels underway unless they are in an enclosed cabin or below deck. The move was in response to the number of drowning deaths of children.

Only U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets will satisfy the requirement. The Coast Guard inspects safety equipment to ensure that it meets the standards required to do the job for which it is intended. All life jackets must bear the words "Coast Guard Approved" in a conspicuous place. What may work in the calm waters of a swimming pool is not suitable on the open water.

57% of the deaths of children between 1995 and 2001 were due to drowning. The investigators believe that most of the drowning deaths could have been prevented by the victim wearing a life jacket. There were eleven states that had no life jacket law when the Coast Guard enacted the new rule. The Coast Guard's rule applies in all states that did not have a rule of their own.

Penalties for not having a life jacket on a child under 13 years of age can be assessed up to $1,100. It can be expensive to violate this rule. However, to lose a child is a far greater loss. It just makes good sense to protect them.

While I am on the topic of children overboard, we have all seen kids with dangling legs as they sit on the bow of a boat underway. All you need to do is hit a wave or a wake to cause that child to slip under the lifeline or rail. If you are on a power-driven vessel at high speed, you run the risk of running right over the child. There simply isn't time to stop.

To put this issue in another perspective, lets look at a few of the ways that children end up overboard. It is relatively easy for a child to slip under the lifeline or rail on most boats. Navigating in rough seas can give rise to the kind of motion that may cause a child to lose his/her footing while walking on deck. Slipping due to wet feet is also a factor.

It is easy to say that if children fall overboard, we would just jump in and save them. The fact is that once they fall in they don't always come to the surface right away. A child overboard can be difficult to locate, especially when the vessel is in motion.

We wear seat belts, use child car seats and wear bicycle helmets. Putting a life jacket on a child is just another way of protecting that child in another environment. After all, when we have children onboard, we are carrying "precious cargo" and should take extra care accordingly. 

Until next time, I wish you clear skies, fair winds, and calm seas!