30 Proceedings | Vol. 83, No. 1 requirements for data entry and conformance with federal reporting—including the reporting form—and the timeliness of submitting casualty reports into BARD. Federal regulations require recreational vessel oper- ators to report a death, missing person, injury requir- ing more than first aid, and an event where the damage exceeds $2,000 to the state reporting authority.3 Deaths require immediate notification, while injuries must be reported within 48 hours, and damage-only accidents within 10 days. Incident Reporting Form States play the crucial investigative role of completing the incident case with the required information. This infor- mation is reported on a form with 262 fields4 divided into 19 different subject areas including details on persons, vessels, and conditions. The Recreational Boating Statistics Report and Investigator Training Gathering the information required to complete the inci- dent reporting form takes professionalism, diligence, and training on the part of state casualty investigators. The Coast Guard, through a grant to the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), pro- vides investigators with this training which is also avail- able to Coast Guard personnel. Using the state investigators’ reports, the Coast Guard produces the annual Recreational Boating Statistics Report each calendar year and is released by June of the following year. The six-month delay is to finalize reporting from the states, review submitted information, and produce the report. The report includes an executive summary, an introduction, and sections on incident causes, condi- tions and types, operator and passenger informa- tion, and casualty and registration data. Each report is organized in the same way, to make finding information and comparing data between years easier. The following information appears in the executive summary, unless otherwise stated, and highlights data from the report. • The number of deaths in 2024 was an all-time low of 556. • The number of deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels was near an all-time low in 2024—at 4.8. This is far below the 20.6 deaths in 1971, which is when the Federal Boat Safety Act (FBSA) that launched the National RBS Program was signed. The program estimates that a nearly 100,000 lives have been saved through FBSA interventions. • In 2024, the greatest cause of boating deaths was drowning. In fact, for the last 10 years, drowning has been the cause of between 75% and 80% of boating deaths. In those same 10 years, between 83% and 87% of drowning victims were not wearing a personal flotation device. • Four out of five boaters who drowned were aboard vessels less than 21 feet in length.5 • Alcohol has remained the greatest contributing factor in boating deaths, ranging between 16% and 23% of deaths in the past eight years. • Most incidents happen in calm water, light wind, good visibility, and warm water temperatures.6 • In 2024, the percentage of boating deaths from paddle crafts, like canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and stand-up paddleboards, was the second highest of all time at 27.2%.7 This included the highest number of stand-up paddleboard deaths—29—in the program’s history. In general, since 2020, the percentage of paddle craft deaths has increased slightly from 25.3 deaths in 2019 to 27.2 deaths in 2024. • Boating injuries have decreased at almost double the rate of boating deaths and other incidents including all deaths, injuries, and damage-only accidents. The average number of injuries in years 2017-2021 was 2,585, though the 3,191 injuries in 2020 were not counted in this average because of the abnormally high activity during the COIVD pandemic. The average in the past three years, 2022-2024, was 2,173. That’s a decrease of 15.9%. By comparison, deaths went from an average of 641 in those same four years to an average of 585, or an 8.7% decrease. Incidents, including all deaths, injuries, and damage-only accidents, went from an average of 4,261 to 3,924, a 7.9% decrease. • In 2024, open motorboats had the most incidents While the number of boating-related death has fallen to an all-time low, alcohol has remained the greatest contributing factor. Coast Guard photo
