TPWD TV-BOATER SAFETY: You can have a good time and 
be safe on the water this summer...on Passport to Texas.

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Working with boating safety educator Jack Dyess, Ron 
Kabele, a writer/producer with the Texas Parks and 
Wildlife TV series, created a segment that will make 
everyone think twice about before getting on the water. 

I was trying to come up with an idea of how to present boating 
safety. And then Jack told me that, 'well, you know you go out on 
the fourth of July, and there are going to be about two dozen 
people who die on that day from different kids of accidents, and 
one of them is boating accidents.' One of the things he said was 
that you can reduce the chance of a fatality in your boat by eighty 
percent simply by putting on a life jacket. 

I have never, nor do I know anyone who has ever, retrieved a 
drowning victim who was wearing a life jacket. Not once. 
Not one of the people thought that they were going to drown 
that day. Not one of them thought that they were going to 
need a life jacket. But they're just as dead. If you want 
to reduce the odds of there being a fatality on your boat 
by eighty percent, all you have to do is require that everyone put 
on a life jacket when they get aboard your boat. 

And these days the life jackets aren't those red, bulky, 
ugly things...the new generation life jackets...they're 
very lightweight and they expand when they hit the water. 
So you can be safe and it not really affect your having fun. 
There's really no excuse anymore for not 
wearing a life jacket.
 
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television series airs on PBS 
stations. Check your local listings.

That's our show for today ... For Texas Parks and 
Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti