WATER HAZARDS: THIS WEEK HAS BEEN DESIGNATED NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK

An 18-foot bass boat collided with a 30-foot pontoon boat recently on Lake of the Ozarks, near Sunrise Beach, leaving one man dead and two men injured.

The boating accident was the 30th this year in Missouri, said Capt. Hans Huenink, director of communications for the Missouri Water Patrol.

To date, the 30 boating mishaps have left four dead and 19 injured,

As the 3-day Memorial Day weekend approaches, Missouri Water Patrol officials urge boaters to take safety precautions.

Law enforcement agencies will be out in full force during the long holiday weekend to hold down the number of drunken drivers and deaths, on roadways and waterways.

Extra officers Missouri and Illinois will patrol roadways, paying special attention to speed, seat-belt usage and alcohol-related violations.

Also out in bigger numbers will be Missouri Water Patrol officers, conservation agents and U.S. Coast Guard officers, stressing the theme of National Boating Week -- "Boat Smart From the Start and Wear Your Life Jacket." This week has been designated National Safe Boating Week.

The Memorial Day weekend is a peak time for travel, and many motorists will travel to lakes and streams where they will exchange their vehicles for boats.

"We anticipate a large number of boaters this weekend," said Huenink. Boating traffic has been up the past three years, although accidents were down last year.

"Accidents were up in 1997," said Huenink, a record of more than 400 accidents and 15 deaths.

Last year there were 379 accidents on waterways and 23 fatalities.

More than a third of those accidents were attributed to alcohol, said Huenink.

Boaters are reminded to wear a life jacket, slow down and stay sober.

"Most boating deaths and injuries result from those aboard not wearing life jackets when accidents throw them overboard," said Tom Wakolbinger, chief of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Law Enforcement. "Life jackets are life savers."

Wakolbinger said 19 people died last year from boating accidents in Illinois in 176 boating accidents.

Nationally, nearly 90 percent of those who die in boating accidents weren't wearing life jackets, said Wakolbinger.

In most states, laws require life jackets be available for each person aboard boats and that life jackets be worn by people operating a boat.

In Illinois youngsters younger than 13 must wear life preservers aboard water craft less than 26 feet long.

In Missouri, youngsters younger than 7 must wear personal flotation devices (PFDs) in water crafts shorter than 16 feet.

The U.S. Coast Guard has considered if it should require recreational boaters to wear their life jackets at all times, not just carry them aboard.

There's no doubt wearing personal flotation devices would save lives, say Coast Guard officials. "Life vests are no good if people won't wear them."

Wakolbinger and Huenink remind boaters conservation police and other law enforcement agencies strictly enforce laws against boaters operating under the influence of alcohol.

After-dark speed limits have been established in Missouri. The limit is 30 mph for boaters on the Missouri waterways and the Mississippi River and on lakes with an aggregate shoreline that exceeds 160 miles. That includes Wappapello Lake in Southeast Missouri and Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, Mark Twain, Table Rock and Smithville.

The Mississippi River can be even more treacherous than lakes and streams, said Lesly Conoway, who works in the long-term resource monitoring office of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"You have to watch the fast-moving waters for more debris," said Conoway, who helps monitor water quality in the Mississippi River. "There's a lot of difference in traveling on the river and lakes. You really have to be more careful of the current in the river."

The river monitoring boats always carry an extra motor. "Our regular motors are over 75 horsepower," she said, "but we have small motors as backups, ranging from 9.9 to more than 30 horsepower.

Another hazard for boaters on the Mississippi River are the "wing dams," the rock dikes that stick out from the river's banks.

"If the river level is down, you can see the wing dams," said Conoway, "but if the water is up a bit, like now, they are not visible."

Recent U.S. Coast Guard data said Missouri is one of the most dangerous states for boaters. The agency tracks serious accidents -- those involving injury or death or damage exceeding $500.

In 1997, Missouri ranked fourth, with 333 serious boating accidents, and 11th in fatalities, with 25. Only Florida, California and Michigan had more serious accidents, but they also have more miles of waterway and more registered boats.

Missouri ranked first in boating arrests related to drugs and alcohol, said an analysis by state water officials.

The boat accidents totals from the Missouri Water Patrol and the Coast Guard do differ, said Huenink. "For instance, in 1997, we reported 410 accidents, compared to the Coast Guard's 333, but the Coast Guard reports only those involving deaths, injury or damage exceeding $500. We report all boating accidents."

Last year, the Water Patrol recorded 535 arrests for boating under the influence of alcohol, and 1,322 for drugs. Those totals were up from the previous year when there were 331 boating under the influence arrests and 1,008 drug arrests.

Missouri's accident rates are attributed to too many boats, too much alcohol and too few safeguards.

Public safety officials are particularly concerned about the Lake of the Ozarks. In 1998, more than half the state's boating accidents and two of its 23 boating deaths occurred on the sprawling lake.

As many as 40,000 boaters are expected at Lake of the Ozarks during the Memorial Day weekend.

The number of boats on the water has risen, with boat registrations in Missouri -- which top 326,000 -- up 20 percent since 1990.

In Illinois a total of 387,523 boats are registered.

BOATING SAFETY

Water patrol officials point out that water doesn't have lane markings or turn signals. "it's a free-for-all, and there's no way to know what the other driver is gtoing to do," said Capt. Hans Huenink, director of communications for the Missouri Water Patrol

Some water safety tips.

*Stay fresh and alert when driving. Take plenty of reaks, and don't try to meet an unrealistic schedule.

*Avoid peak travel periods.

*Avoid late-afternoon driving when heat, fatigue and heavy traffic are a strain.

*Don't drink and drive.

*Choose a designated driver before going to a party.

*Drive at a safe speed, allowing plenty of time and distrance to react to traffic changes.

*Carry a Coast Guard-approved life preserver for every passenger aboard.

*If in a river, watch the current and watch for fast-floating debris.