The Coast Guard’s report confirmed that Florida had the most dangerous waterways, as they were the scene of nearly 700 boat and jet ski accidents last year. In fact, Florida’s waterways were more than twice as dangerous as California, the next ranked stated. Florida had 679 boating accidents which resulted in 55 wrongful deaths. The property damage from those accidents was almost ten million dollars. And while the number of accidents and personal injuries rose by two percent from the prior year, fatalities actually dropped by the same amount.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife report, Monroe County was followed by Miami-Dade in the greatest number of accidents. The Keys had ninety boat accidents with six deaths. Miami Dade had seventy-three accidents with two deaths. Due to the number of locals and tourists enjoying the Keys to fish and dive, it is not surprising that that destination is the most dangerous.

Unfortunately, those enjoying a day on the water tend to also enjoy drinking alcohol, because the Coast Guard found that alcohol was the main factor in every boat accident last year. Alcohol use was also a significant factor in almost twenty-five percent of all fatal boating accidents. The other contributing factors to boating accidents were operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience and excessive speed. Much of the operator error could be avoided if self-proclaimed boat captains received formal boating instruction and certifications. Education is necessary as seventy percent of boating accident resulting in a death had a captain/operator who did not receive any formal boating safety instruction.

And incredibly, but sadly not surprisingly, nearly ninety percent of the victims who lost their lives were not wearing life jackets. This is a glaring statistic because nearly eighty percent of boating accident related deaths were due to drowning. Just like a passenger in a car needing to wear a seat-belt, “It’s critical for boaters to wear a life jacket at all times because it very likely will save your life,” said Capt. Scott Johnson, chief of the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety. In hopes of educating the public about the clear importance of life vest use, the Coast Guard in cooperation with the National Safe Boating Council launched a statewide boating safety campaign called “Wear it Florida.” The campaign encourages boaters to always wear a life jacket whenever they are on the water.

Interestingly, eight of every ten drownings involved a person who was operating or riding upon a vessel less than 21 feet in length. Open motorboats were involved in the greatest number of deadly accidents with kayaks and personal watercraft a distant second and third. The need for proper instruction and supervision is critically important for tourist use of personal watercraft, as nearly half of all personal watercraft accident involved a rented vessel.

With nearly 1 million registered vessels across the State of Florida, boating is an ever increasingly way for residents and tourists to spend their time and to enjoy some outdoor social distancing. Due to the number of vessels on our waterways, Miami boat accident lawyer Joseph Lipsky reminds all boaters to use due care, not to drink or use drugs while operating a vessel and to make sure all those on their vessel are using a proper fitting and coast guard approved life jacket.

With the size of Biscayne Bay and frequent boating off shore of Miami Beach, Miami-Dade had 96 boating accidents in 2015, which resulted in nearly $3 million in property damage and unfortunately with three wrongful deaths and seventy four personal injuries. The Florida Keys, comprising of both Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, accounted for 78 accidents, resulting in 5 wrongful deaths and nearly 50 injuries. The 57 boating accidents in Broward County during 2015, resulted in five deaths and over 40 injuries.

According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, about one half of all boat accidents were caused by operators failing to maintain a proper lookout and being distracted, just like the careless actions of distracted car drivers.

While the number of deaths dropped, serious boating accidents actually rose by more than 100 from 2014 to 2015, to a total of 737. This increase is not unexpected as there are more registered boats in Florida, over 900,000, than any other state. Of course, that number does not take into account the estimated nearly 1,000,000 unregistered watercrafts.

Considering drowning played a role in over half of Florida’s boating deaths, Key West boat accident attorney Joseph Lipsky reminds all boaters, no matter how experienced, that life jackets save lives, so make sure your watercraft is supplied with at least one such flotation device for each vessel occupant.