The Other 20% --
When Wearing a Life Jacket
Is Not Enough
By CDR Kim Pickens, U. S.
Coast Guard Reserve
Operation BoatSmart
Project Officer
Boating accident statistics show that drowning is the single biggest
cause of death in recreational boating accidents, accounting for more than 70%
of boating deaths. The great majority of these drownings were precipitated by
unexpected entry into the water, which means the victim had no time to
grab a life jacket before entering the water. Our data also show that over 80%
of drowning victims were NOT wearing life jackets when found. We know from
other data that most of those victims could have been saved had they
been wearing a life jacket before the mishap occurred.
OK,
you say, I’ll buy that. But now tell me: what happened to the other 20%,
the ones who were wearing life jackets, but drowned anyway? How come
they drowned? And why should I wear a hot, uncomfortable life jacket when
chances are I might drown anyway? Those are good questions, and they
deserve some honest answers. The truth is there are actually several
reasons why persons wearing life jackets occasionally drown.
A
significant number of these drowning victims were paddlers, such as canoeists
and kayakers. Now canoeists and, even more so, kayakers, actually have
a pretty good PFD wear rate, at least compared with most other boating
populations.
However, paddlers also have a few things that work against them if they
should have a mishap. For one, paddlers tend to boat in remote areas, far from
rescue resources or help from passersby. They frequently paddle alone or with
only one other person, and the vessels they use are by design relatively
unstable and prone to frequent capsizings. Most importantly, paddlers are more
at risk for a dangerous situation called entrapment.
Entrapment occurs when the vessel or the boater becomes snagged on rocks or
debris at some hazardous point, then goes under due to the severe hydraulics
of the water. The boater is either unable to escape the craft or unable to
escape the hydraulic pressures on him or her. Entrapment can occur no matter
what kind of PFD the boater has on. When it does, the resulting cause of death
is almost always drowning.
Other causes of drowning while wearing life jackets generally involve some
sort of injury or impairment that, by itself, doesn't kill the boater, but is
severe enough to prevent him or her to do those things necessary to keep the
boater’s face out of the water or prevent what we call "mouth immersions" from
restricting the victim’s airway over time.
A
person who gets hit in the head by some object on land may fall to the ground
unconscious. When that person wakes up, he or she can then seek medical
attention with no other harm done. If that same person gets hit the same way
and lands in the water instead, it's a very different story.
Wearing a PFD that turns an unconscious victim face up is one way to avoid
that problem. Unfortunately, most of the more comfortable PFDs – usually those
labeled as Type III or Type V PFDs – will not turn an unconscious victim face
up, at least not consistently. What most such PFDs will do (all but
manually-activated inflatables) is bring the person, whether unconscious or
not, back up to the surface, which enables those nearby to quickly
bring the victim to safety. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens (not very
often) that no one is nearby to help the unconscious victim, and the end
result is drowning.
Another reason boaters wearing life jackets sometimes drown involves frequent
or a prolonged period of water ingestion. Once a boater is in the water, waves
continuously splashing over the victim’s mouth cause a small amount of water
to be ingested, some of which may enter the lungs. The more forcefully and
completely the waves cover the mouth and nose, the more water is ingested.
These are called “mouth immersions.”
No
life jacket, not even a SOLAS-certified PFD, can prevent all mouth immersions.
The frequency of mouth immersions can vary widely, depending on the particular
model, the boater’s body type, water temperature, and sea conditions. The
boater may also be suffering injuries or lack the mental awareness, especially
over time, to prevent mouth immersions from occurring. Eventually, those mouth
immersions do the same thing as having the boater's face in the water; they
eventually cause the boater to drown. It is an awful and terribly protracted
way to die, but it does happen.
Those are the primary reasons boaters wearing life jackets sometimes drown.
Either the boater is unable to free him- or herself from some type of
entrapment, is unconscious or otherwise unable to keep his/her face out of the
water, or eventually drowns from numerous mouth immersions over a prolonged
period of time.
That
said, there are many good reasons why you SHOULD wear a life jacket whenever
you go out on the water. The fact is the greatest cause of death among
boaters is drowning due to unexpected entry into the water! That means
there is no time – absolutely no time – to “grab” your life jacket on
the way out of your boat. The time you need to have your jacket on is
before you ever get onboard!
But
we also know that boaters in general HATE wearing life jackets, because they
know how hot and uncomfortable the stupid things are! Is that what you think,
too? Ah, but things have changed in the last ten years! If your image of life
jackets is “big, orange, and downright uncomfortable,” you really need
to take a look at “today’s” life jackets. There are many styles available
today that are so attractive, so practical, and really and truly
comfortable, you may be very pleasantly surprised! At this point in time
you may have to go to a specialty store or shop online to find one that you
could be coaxed into wearing. But, the important thing to know is that they
are available; many at very reasonable prices. (We’ve found some great ones
for between $40-80, a few even lower. Surely your life is worth the cost of a
nice dinner out!)
Once
you find one that you’ll wear, it’s also extremely important that you
keep it securely fastened. A scenario we sometimes see in fatality reports
goes something like this: the victim had a life jacket on but not secured; the
victim fell into the water; the victim’s body went under the water
while the jacket remained on the surface, causing the jacket to
immediately separate from the victim; and the victim then drowned. Avoid an
untimely separation between your life jacket and YOU: make sure you’re
securely buckled, zippered or otherwise strapped into that thing!
Can
we always prevent people who wear PFDs from drowning? No, and I hope the
explanations given here answer any concerns you may have about their
effectiveness. Wearing a life jacket whenever you are out on the water is by
far the single best thing you can do to prevent drowning.
Just
remember, it’s not the life jacket that saves lives; it’s you and me
wearing them that saves lives! Boat smart from the start – WEAR your life
jacket!
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