TPWD TV — Boater Safety
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program
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.
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… with support from the Support Fish Restoration Program…funded by our purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuels. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti
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