Stay Alive - Wear a Life Vest - National Safe Boating Week

National Safe Boating Week
May 22-28, 2021

We are on a mission to make water fun, but the sad fact is that every summer hundreds of lives are lost to drowning because people were not wearing a life vest. According to U.S. Coast Guard statistics, drowning was the cause of death in three-fourths of recreational boating fatalities in 2014, and 84 percent of those who drowned were not wearing a personal flotation device. This is particularly unfortunate because these deaths could have been easily prevented.

That’s why we are helping to promote National Safe Boating Week from May 22 - 28, 2021 sponsored by the North American Safe Boating Campaign and supported by a grant from the U.S. Coast Guard. This yearlong campaign is promoting safe and responsible boating and raising awareness of voluntary and consistent life vest wear by recreational boaters in the U.S. and Canada.

Boating in a safe and responsible way keeps the fun in water sports. Wearing life vests consistently will help mishaps from happening when an unexpected boating accident occurs. Boaters should always drive sober, know the navigational rules of the waters they are traveling, watch out for other boaters and their towable passengers, and have a lookout aboard to keep an eye on those skiing, tubing, and knee boarding behind the boat.

Some boaters object to wearing life vests because the old image of bulky, uncomfortable vests come to mind. Fortunately, today’s boaters have many innovative life vest options including sporty neoprene vests, comfortable lightweight universal vests, and inflatable vests. 

RAVE Sports® has also worked with the Water Sports Industry Association to produce this inflatable safety video to educate boaters on responsible tubing. In addition, the 2016 WSIA Towed Water Sports Handbook is available here for a nominal fee. We recommend reviewing these best practices and tips to make your water recreation safe and more pleasurable.

Being visible to other boaters is an important factor in boating safety when pulling people on towables. RAVE towables are designed with bright exciting colors clearly visible from a vast distance by other boaters or dock dwellers alike. Additional water recreation products can be found at www.ravesports.com

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