Articles Posted in Boating Accidents

According to a recent Oregonian article there have been three instances of water-related fatalities in Oregon in just the last few weeks. With the long holiday weekend upon us, that makes this an especially important moment to remind everyone of essential safety precautions, especially when it comes to preventing injuries to children.

In an article this week the newspaper noted that “authorities suspended their search… for a missing swimmer who’s presumed drowned at Three Pools, a popular swimming hole in Marion County. A man who jumped into the North Umpqua River in Douglas County is also presumed drowned. And a Portland man is presumed drowned after he jumped into the Clackamas River.” It goes on to note that 21 “people drowned in public, natural waterbodies in Oregon and southwest Washington last summer.”

Memorial Day weekend will bring even more people to the water, and potentially expose them to a wide variety of dangers, but the good news is that many of these can be minimized through a few basic, common sense precautions. Among the easiest – and most important – is ensuring that everyone in a boat, canoe or kayak is wearing a life jacket. Nearly a year ago I used this space to publicize the Aaron Peters Water Safety Fund, a non-profit dedicated to keeping everyone, but especially kids, safe when they are on the water. The fund, as its website explains, “is designed to help aid in building kiosks for life jackets” with the goal of preventing drownings in high-risk areas. Life jackets can be borrowed from APWSF kiosks for free. Last summer the fund exceeded its initial goals by setting up kiosks in eight locations around the state in just a few months. The link below offers both a complete list of the current kiosks and more information on the fund and it’s important work.

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and the summer is officially underway. That is mostly a good thing, but as The Oregonian reminded us last week, it is also a moment to give some careful thought to safety. The holiday weekend, the paper noted, is “also the start of the season for cold water drownings in the region’s alluring, but often deadly, natural waterways.”

An investigation by the paper found that since 2006 “area lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean were the site of 212 drownings. The large majority – 180 – were men or boys; the remaining 15 percent, a total of 32, were women or girls.” The paper goes on to offer examples of incidents that started as routine outings but quickly turned into tragedies. It continues: “This kind of hazard abounds in natural waterways. One moment you’re in water up to your thighs, the next step takes you to water 10 feet deep.”

The solutions are very simple: public awareness and easier access to safety equipment. The Oregonian notes several organizations and initiatives that are working “to reduce the number of drownings through education and enforcement.” In particular, it quotes first responders reminding people of the importance of life jackets. The article quotes a sheriff’s office official in Clark County saying that “in more than 90 percent of the drownings he’s responded to, a life jacket would have saved the person.” Among the safety initiatives already underway in some parts of the state and expected to continue this season are efforts to make life jackets – usually ones that can be borrowed for free – more easily and widely available at potential trouble sites.