31 Vol. 83, No. 1 | Proceedings with 2,475. Personal watercraft were involved in 986, while cabin motorboats and pontoon vessels were involved in 712 and 477, respectively. • Three primary factors contributed to 39% of open motorboat, 50% of personal watercraft, 40% of cabin motorboat, and 44% of pontoon boat incidents—operator inattention,8 improper lookout,9 and operator inexperience.10 These rates are highest among motorized boats. • Voluntary departure deaths, including when a swimmer leaves a boat voluntarily and drowns, are far more likely on vessels with inexperienced operators and passengers. • Most incidents happen with operators between 26 and 55 years of age, and those who have more than 100 hours of experience or someone with the same experience but no formal boating education. Data Concerns The rate of reporting to the states differs significantly among deaths, injuries, and damage-only accidents. A recent study11 showed that nearly every boating death is included in the Annual Recreational Boating Statistics Report. However, the reporting rate for injuries and damage-only accidents is much less reliable. The Coast Guard worked with insurance companies to determine that the rate of reporting for serious injuries, which required treatment in a hospital, was about 67%. For injuries requiring only first aid, the rate of reporting was about 4%. For damage-only accidents, the rate of reporting was about 6%. Insurance companies do not have a requirement that the boat owner must submit a CG-3865, or recreational boating accident, form with their claim. Using these rates, the Coast Guard estimates the actual number of incidents per year is about 50,000, more than a tenfold increase in incidents from what is presently reported to the states. The Boating Safety Division’s position regarding this shortfall is that enough information is received from the reports that are made. This is especially true since the program receives notice of all deaths and most significant injuries and has reasonable estimates of the reporting shortfall for the remaining incidents. The significant increase in the workload to capture all incidents would not justify the benefit. To address concerns over incidents that are not reported, especially for deaths and significant injuries, the Coast Guard scrubs media reports of boating incidents and publishes the Boating Accident Descriptions, or BADS. This report assists in identifying those incidents for which the state may not have received a report and is emailed to the RBS community biweekly from May through October and weekly the rest of the year. The impact of alcohol is another data concern. For motor vehicles, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration counted 39,345 motor vehicle fatalities in 2024, its most recent report. Alcohol was involved in 12,429, or 30%, of these fatalities. For the same year, the RBS Program’s Boating Statistics Report indicated alcohol was a contributing factor in 17% of boating deaths. The Coast Guard will be analyzing the Coast Guard graphic by Munseila Sarun Coast Guard graphics
