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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007
E NH A NC I NG P U B L I C S A F E T Y
ON T HE WA T E R
Cal Boating’s accident and boating safety programs take accident
statistics – where accidents happen, what the trends are, where
improvements are needed – and transform that information into
education and safety publications, multimedia outreach campaigns,
law enforcement initiatives, and recommendations to the Legislature.
Historically, Cal Boating collected data annually from boating accident
reports and provided it to the Coast Guard. In 1993, the department
decided to use accident statistics to put together the first
Boating
Accident Report
. Later renamed the
Boating Safety Report
, this annual
publication is intended to increase awareness of boating safety by
detailing where accidents were happening, who was having them, and
the types and causes of these accidents.
Many variables impact boating accident rates. In the 1970s and early
1980s, boating accidents resulted in a high rate of fatalities. Some 59
percent of those accidents were alcohol-related. Before 1986, California
lacked a clear definition of “intoxication” for a vessel operator. In 1987,
state law made it illegal to operate a vessel with a blood alcohol level
of .10 percent or more. In 1991, this level was reduced to .08 percent, so
that the same rules about driving a car while intoxicated also applied
to operating a boat. The number of boating fatalities has decreased
since that legislation was passed.
In 1998, a new state law raised the boat operating age from 12 to 16
and outlawed radical maneuvers such as “donuts” and cutting through
boat wakes by personal watercraft operators. But greater public
awareness of the importance of boating safety was needed. So Cal
Boating initiated a new media campaign developed from information
collected by the boating accident program. The campaign targeted
boaters who were more likely to be involved in accidents and aired
Aquatic and boating safety
skills learned at an early age will
protect students throughout
their lives.