The number of personal watercraft-related accidents has increased with the popularity of personal watercraft (PWC) (also commonly known as jet skis) since their introduction during the late 1960s. The use of the term jet ski for all types of PWCs is a misnomer; Jet Ski is a registered trademark in the United States for a line of PWCs manufactured by Kawasaki. With the increased use of personal watercraft since their inception, the hazards accompanying their use have also increased. According to U.S. government reports, most accidents are associated with rental operators, underage operators, under-trained and undereducated boaters and a variety of factors associated with recreational-boating accidents (excessive speed, inattention, reckless operation, alcohol consumption and violations of the "Rules of the Road").Almost all bodies of water in the United States are governed by the Inland Navigation Rules or their state law equivalents. These "rules" are typically referred to as the "rules of the road." Due to their affordability, ease of use, and relatively low transportation and maintenance costs, personal watercraft have significantly increased the number of water-based enthusiasts in the U.S. This rise in participation has created conflicts between the various boating segments in the U.S. and a need for additional boater education. Recreational-boating accidents are the second-largest transportation-related cause of injury in the U.S. (after automobile accidents).NTSB Boating Safety Report (1993)
Background One-person watercraft are vessels designed for recreational use on the water, carrying between one and four passengers. The U.S. Coast Guard defines PWC as "craft less than 13 feet in length designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing or kneeling on the craft rather than within the confines of a hull"."Boating Statistics 2006." Retrieved on December 15, 2008 The original PWCs were manufactured during the mid-1950s in the United Kingdom and Europe. Ten years later, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) began manufacturing PWCs in the USA under the name Sea-Doo. BRP left the PWC business shortly thereafter, and in 1973 Kawasaki introduced a "stand-up" watercraft designed for a single operator (with a tray for standing or kneeling, in place of a seat). By the late 1980s "sit-down" models had appeared on the market, allowing the rider to be seated (similar to a snowmobile or motorcycle seat). These sit-down models were made by Kawasaki (1986), Yamaha (1987) and BRP (1988). Polaris and Arctic were two American companies which entered the market during the early 1990s.
PWC have an inboard engine with a screw-shaped impeller to create thrust and propulsion for steering. They are small, fast, and easy to maneuver; PWCs do not use external propellers, making them safer for swimmers and wildlife. The user-friendly properties of PWCs have contributed to the increase in popularity amongst less-experienced watercraft users. To increase safety, a number of U.S. consumer groups suggested that all boats should utilize the jet-drive mechanism (also called a pump-jet) employed by PWC manufacturers since this would reduce the risk of propeller injuries.The Coast Guard's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for houseboats provided that houseboats should either have a propeller guard installed or be converted to jet drive power.
Accidents All boating accidents in the United States either occur on state- or federally-patrolled waters. Whether state or federal, reports must be filed for a predefined level of damage and are compiled by the United States Coast Guard (which uses the reported data for its annual BAR—Boating Accident Report—Statistical Reports). As automotive law-enforcement officers outnumber boating law-enforcement officers in the U.S., federal government reports for watercraft are comparatively fewer.As a general rule of thumb the Coast Guard believes that it receives about 10% of the "property damage only" accidents, but 90% of the serious personal injury accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted general investigation of the recreational-boating accident-reporting system in 1998 and compiled its findings in a published report.National Transportation Safety Board: Personal Watercraft Safety." 1998. http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/8000/8400/8418/SS9801.pdf Retrieved on December 13, 2008 The NTSB's investigation emerged with data seen as representative of overall recreational boating; an example follows from the report's conclusion:
Inattention (attributed to 307 operators), inexperience (attributed to 296 operators), and inappropriate speed for the operating conditions (attributed to 246 operators) were the most frequently cited causes that contributed to the PWC accidents. One or more of these three causes were associated with 70 percent of the 814 accidents. A fourth cause, improper lookout (153), was associated with about one-fifth of the accidents.Page 18-19 of NTSB Report (1998). This results in 90% of all accidents being attributed to improper lookout, inexperience, inappropriate speed and inattention. The remaining 10% of the accidents were mostly due to rules of the road infractions, weather or environmental conditions and other "unknown" causes.
According to the aforementioned interpretation of the NTSB report: The vast majority of accidents (over 90 percent) were caused by operator error. There is a significantly higher association with accidents for rental operators (nearly 25 percent) than is the case for the general boating population; however, this may be related to the higher percentage of rental operators."The Safety Board is concerned about persons who rent PWC. Nearly one-quarter of the PWC operators involved in the 1997 accidents analyzed by the Safety Board for this study (292 of 1,218, or 24 percent) were operating rented PWC" NTSB Report (page 33) The NTSB report did not conclude that PWCs are disproportionately represented in boating-accident statistics."The study was not designed to estimate how often PWC accidents occur, nor are the results of the study necessarily representative of all PWC accidents". Page i. "However, in 1994 the number of PWC fatalities began to increase noticeably because the number of PWCs in operation increased". Page v. "The increase in PWC fatalities is proportional to the increase of PWC in operation." Page 2.
A study performed by the Red Cross in 1991 concluded that during the research period, PWC accidents were not disproportionate to their use by the boating population. This was later supported by a Coast Guard study presented to the State of Vermont in 1996. Both studies presented findings that the comparative accident rates for personal water craft were not disproportionate to their use by the boating population; the reports emphasized the high level of attention and publicity that PWC accidents receive.There is a difference between comparing the number accidents to the number of registrations, as opposed to comparing the number of accidents to the actual hours of use of the boats. Large yachts, which spend most of their time sitting at the marina, are less at risk of an accident due to the low hours of use.
During the late 1990s, several states (including California and Florida, two jurisdictions which, according to the NTSB report, accounted for over 50 percent of all personal watercraft accidents in the U.S.) changed their laws regarding the use of personal water craft. These amendments included the introduction of limits for wake-jumping, the prescribed use of a PWC within of another vessel, "spraying" activities, mandated operation of PWCs within of the shoreline, and age restrictions for operators (the operator age was raised from 12 to 16 years for all affected states, with Florida also introducing a mandatory boating-safety course for those under age 18).National Transportation Safety Board: Personal Watercraft Safety." 1998. According to the State of California, these laws have directly contributed to an over-50-percent reduction in accidents.See footnotes to accident discussion below. California Boating and Waterways 2004 Annual Report.
A notable fatality occurred on July 1, 2012, in Little Sabine Bay (near Pensacola Beach), Florida; retired astronaut Alan Poindexter was killed when the PWC he was riding was rammed by one operated by one of his sons.Ex-astronaut Alan Poindexter dies in jet ski accident
Causes
Reckless driving The leading cause of PWC accidents among riders in 2007 was reckless or careless driving."Boating Statistics 2006." http://www.uscgboating.org/statistics/Boating_Statistics_2007.pdf. Retrieved on December 13, 2008. According to the National Transportation Safety Board in the U.S., this accounted for 26.3 percent of all PWCs involved in accidents in 2007."National Transportation Safety Board: Personal Watercraft Safety." 1998. Retrieved on December 13, 2008 Reckless driving has been defined in the Personal Watercraft Act of 2005 in the U.S. as follows: Every personal watercraft shall at all times be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. No person shall operate a personal watercraft in an unsafe or reckless manner. Unsafe personal watercraft operation shall include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) Becoming airborne or completely leaving the water while crossing the wake of another vessel within [100 feet] of the vessel creating the wake. Or wake jumping
(2) Weaving through congested traffic.(3) Operating a vessel at greater than slow/no wake speed within [100 feet] of an anchored or moored vessel, shoreline, vessel underway, dock, pier, boat ramp, marina, swim float, marked swim area, person in the water, person(s) engaged in angling, or any propelled vessel. (4) Operating contrary to the "Rules of the Road" or following to close to another vessel, including another personal watercraft. For the purposes of this section, following too close shall be construed as proceeding in the same direction and operating at a speed in excess of [10 MPH] when approaching within [100 feet] to the rear or [50 feet] to the side of another motorboat or sailboat which is underway unless such vessel is operating in a narrow channel, in which case a personal watercraft may operate at speed and flow of other vessel traffic.NASBLA Model Act for Personal Watercraft http://www.nasbla.net/pdf/Model%20Acts/new/Personal%20Watercraft%2092105.pdf. Retrieved on December 10, 2008.
Reckless driving is defined differently by state. For example, in Florida reckless driving on a PWC is defined as "maneuvering a personal watercraft by weaving through congested vessel traffic, jumping the wake of another vessel unreasonably close or when visibility around the vessel is obstructed, or swerving at the last possible moment to avoid collision is classified as reckless operation of a vessel".Florida Boating Laws Basic. http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/statelaws/Florida.html. Retrieved on December 5, 2008. In U.S. law, the penalties for operating a vessel in a negligent or reckless manner are defined as following:(a) A person operating a vessel in a negligent manner or interfering with the safe operation of a vessel, so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of a person is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 in the case of a recreational vessel, or $25,000 in the case of any other vessel.(b) A person operating a vessel in a grossly negligent manner that endangers the life, limb, or property of a person commits a class A misdemeanor."U.S. Code: Penalties for negligent operations and interfering with safe operation." https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/2302-. Retrieved on December 10, 2008
Driver inattention