Everyone should wear Life Jackets on the Lake

In 2013, 77% of all fatal boating accident victims drowned, and of those who drowned, 84% were not wearing a life jacket. Everyone should wear a life jacket when enjoying time on the lake, says Daby Snipes with Safe Kids Upstate. “If you are out on a boat enjoying a day and there are life jackets on board, which there should be, I would have that life jacket on, even though the law doesn’t require it for anyone above 16 years of age, but have it on just in case. If you talk to civil engineers and all these folks around the lakes, they will tell you that it is so sad that that life jacket can save so many lives; you can still enjoy being in the water, but think about being in the middle of Lake Hartwell or Lake Keowee or wherever, you are swimming and having a great time and you can get tired. Even Olympic swimmers drown, so it is not anything against your own swimming skills, but it is just a layer of protection to have that on you.” The U.S. Coast Guard requires that all children under age 13 wear a personal flotation device while on a recreational vessel. It is estimated that half of all drowning events among recreational boaters from 2000 to 2006 could have been prevented if personal flotation devices were worn.