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EDITORIAL: Water safety always in season

Remember the golden rule of always wearing a life jacket or PFD
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Remember to take proper safety precautions when using watercraft this summer, primarily wearing life jackets or PFDs. Pixabay

With the last long weekend before summer behind us, boating season has officially begun in the province. And with that, boater/water safety comes to mind. Another gentle reminder about the potential dangers of open water can only do residents good.

According to the B.C. Coroners Service, boating incidents are the number one cause of drowning deaths in the province – they made up 22.5 per cent of the total between 2008 and 2015. That number increases to a full 25 per cent when rafting and tubing are added to the mix – two popular Vancouver Island pastimes.

Close to home we have had our share of drowning tragedies in recent history, some of which could have been prevented with adherence to the golden rule of the water: always wear a life jacket or personal flotation device.

Yes, there is a difference. Life-jackets offer a higher level of protection. PFDs are designed to keep a person afloat but are not designed to turn an unconscious person face up in the water.

Make sure to choose one that suits the type of boating activities you will be doing. (For more information on life jackets/PFDs, visit bit.ly/1E86gNf.)

And if life-jackets/PFDs are the golden rule, leaving alcohol and/or drugs out of the equation comes a close second. More than 40 per cent of all drowning deaths in B.C. between 2008 and 2015 involved alcohol and/or drugs.

This isn’t surprising. Very few people ever credit alcohol for wise decisions.

But again, it must be said.

It’s not acceptable – socially, or legally – to consume alcohol while driving down the highway; so why, then, do so many think it’s acceptable behaviour to have a beer in one hand while steering a boat with the other?

Statistically speaking, it’s inevitable that there will be articles written in this publication about a tragedy on the water at some time this year.

Please, pay heed to these words. If they save one life, they were worth writing.