A recreational boating statistics report for 2012 listed operator inattention as the leading cause of accidents on the water. According to a Coast Guard statistic, out of 4,730 reported boating accidents in a recent year, 23% involved either \u201coperator inattention\u201d or \u201cimproper lookout.\u201d Although a broad category, it is by far the largest contributor to boating accidents. <\/p>\n
These statistics have led to a call for tougher laws to control distracted boaters who text and talk on cell phones while underway on the nation\u2019s waterways. Many serious accidents, involving loss of lives, have been documented listing cell phone use as the cause.<\/p>\n
The call for legislation and tighter controls was taken up by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). They stated in recent years increasing evidence pointed toward rapid growth in the use of wireless electronic devices that are creating hazards for drivers, pilots and train engineers. In a letter to the Coast Guard, they said similar distractions could be dangerous on the water.<\/p>\n
Former NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Herman was quoted stating, \u201cThe use of wireless devices while operating vehicles in any mode of transportation poses an unacceptable distraction. Lives are being unnecessarily put at risk and lost. The agency is requesting that the Coast Guard tighten restrictions on cell phone use by its officers. It also would like the Coast Guard to work with the NTSB and issue a broad safety advisory to the entire maritime industry warning of the dangers of using cell phones for calling or texting while aboard an underway vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response to discussions with the NTSB, the Coast Guard prohibited cell phone use by operators of its boats and restricted their use by other crewmembers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A recreational boating statistics report for 2012 listed operator inattention as the leading cause of accidents on the water. According to a Coast Guard statistic, out of 4,730 reported boating accidents in a recent year, 23% involved either \u201coperator inattention\u201d or \u201cimproper lookout.\u201d Although a broad category, it is by far the largest contributor to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[242,237],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boat-insurance-2","category-boating-safety-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2106,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105\/revisions\/2106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}