THINK SAFETY WHEN BOATING ON MISSOURI WATERS

Considering the number of serious boating accidents that have occurred in Missouri in recent years, one might think the Show Me State isn't the safest place to take to the water.

1997 was the worst year ever for boating accidents in the state. The 410 accidents that occurred that year ranked Missouri fourth among all states in serious accidents, and the 25 fatalities resulting from those accidents ranked it 11th in that category. Missouri's statistics for the next two years weren't much better: in 1999, 397 serious boating accidents and 23 deaths occurred; in 1998 there were 379 serious accidents and 23 deaths.

The most frequent causes of boating accidents in Missouri last year were carelessness, recklessness and inattention. More than a third of the accidents were attributed to alcohol, and most deaths and injuries were blamed on boaters and passengers not wearing life jackets.

Disturbing is the fact that Missouri ranked first among all states last year in boating arrests related to drugs and alcohol. Last year the Missouri Water Patrol recorded 430 arrests for boating under the influence of alcohol and 1,797 for drugs. In 1998 there were 535 boating-under- the-influence arrests and 1,208 drug arrests.

One might be misled by the state's high number of arrests for boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and assume that most of those who drink and operate boats are being removed from the water. But that isn't the case. Instead, it shows there are far too many people mixing alcohol with boating, so many that possible most are going undetected.

Most fatalities that occur while boating are caused by drowning, which could have been avoided had the victims been wearing life jackets. The statistics speak for themselves: Each year 90 percent of those who die in boating accidents aren't wearing life jackets.

Most states, including Missouri, require that every passenger in a boat have a life jacket, but they aren't required to wear them. They should be. As quickly as an accident occurs, few passengers have the time or can think quickly enough to grab a life jacket in the split second a boat capsizes or they are thrown into the water. And many, you can be certain, don't even know where the life jacket is in the boat.

All of the statistics are disturbing considering so many accidents could be avoided if boat operators used good, common sense, didn't drink on the water and abided by a few cardinal safety rules, the first of which is wearing a life jacket.