WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF BOAT ACCIDENTS?

It is “operator inattention” according to the U.S. Coast Guard. For recent statistics kept by the U.S. Coast Guard “operator inattention” is the leading cause of boating accidents.  Next is not surprisingly “operator inexperience”. Neither of these top two boating accident categories is a surprise to the attorneys representing accident victims here in Florida at www.888BoatLaw.com. In our more than 25 years at the www.888BoatLaw.com law firm helping injured boating accident clients recover, “operator inattention” would be our number 1 reason for boating injury accidents as well. Also, with the rise of boat clubs and one-day boat rentals it is equally not surprising that “inexperienced operators” would be the number 2 most common factor of boating accidents. Boat clubs and boat rental locations place many inexperienced vessel operators on the water who have never been out amongst other boating traffic and may only have a minimal knowledge of the Rules of the Road.

The 3rd-most prevalent factor in boating accidents is “failure to keep a lookout”. This can be a form of operator inattention but on many boats, there is a separate person besides the operator who is supposed to keep a lookout.

Excessive speed is the 4th factor and alcohol is 5th. By way of comparison “operator inattention” is almost a 3-to-1 factor higher than alcohol, and “operator inexperience” is roughly 2-to-1 over alcohol involvement in boating accident cases.

These numbers are based upon 2354 boating accidents for the year 2022. In these boating accidents there were 306 deaths. There were 1502 injuries. Recognize that in these USCG statistics this will not include most boating accident injuries that occur inland on wholly enclosed lakes, rivers or reservoirs. The numbers are instructive and in this maritime law firm that represents boating accident victims we often see a combination of these factors which lead to a boating accident injury. In boating collision cases there is almost always operator inattention but also failure to keep a lookout and usually excessive speed.

WHAT TIME OF DAY PRODUCES THE MOST FATAL BOATING ACCIDENTS?

According to the U.S. Coast Guard data the time of day that produces the most fatal boating accidents is between 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.  And based upon our experience representing boating accident victims and their families we believe we can explain this. On popular boating days and good weather days when boaters have been out on the water since early morning and have been in the sun, many times drinking alcohol, in the mid-to-late afternoon is when many all-day boaters begin to head to the docks, marinas, and boat ramps—at the same time. Boaters know that to not get stuck in the zoo that is the 5-6 p.m. boat ramp frenzy you have to beat the crowd to the boat ramp. The problem is that the rest of the crowd knows this as well. This is where the factors of excessive speed and alcohol frequently come into play. We have successfully handled boating accident cases, and boating death cases which arise from this very combination.

You should not trust your boating accident case to a car accident attorney. The laws that apply to your boating accident case are not the same as those that apply to car crashes. Maritime law applies to your case in almost every instance in Florida. Don’t trust your boating accident injury case to anyone other than a specialist. We handle boating accident cases every single day and fight for victims of boating accidents.

CONTACT US NOW AT www.888BOATLAW.COM TO FIGHT FOR YOU.

FIGHTING BOATING INJURY CASES THROUGHOUT ALL OF FLORIDA.