
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995                   TAG: 9502180013
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                    PAGE: BS-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

LIFE JACKETS NOW REQUIRED

You get into your canoe or johnboat and toss your passenger a boat cushion. In the past that has been enough to accomplish two things: provide comfort and satisfy federal and state safety requirements

After May 1, cushions will do only half the job.

That is the date that operators of boats under 16 feet - including canoes, johnboats and kayaks - will be required to carry a wearable life jacket for each person on board. Cushions or ring buoys no longer will be sufficient to satisfy personal flotation requirements called for by federal and state law.

The new regulation is in the United States Coast Guard Code of Federal Regulations, which Virginia has adopted. The rules currently call for one wearable life jacket and a boat cushion or ring buoy for each passenger.

The new requirement is an attempt on the part of the Coast Guard to deal with the high number of fatalities suffered by small-boat operators. Eight out of 10 boating fatalities involve boats less than 26 feet. More than 80 percent of the victims drown, the agency said.

While wearable jackets will be required, the new regulation does not say that they must be worn.

- Staff report

by CNB