Good afternoon, Chairwoman Hawkins and members of the Committee. It is a pleasure to be here in Richmond today to discuss the National Transportation Safety Board's recreational boating safety recommendations.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress to investigate transportation accidents, determine their probable cause, and make recommendations to prevent their recurrence. The recommendations that arise from our investigations and safety studies are our most important product. In our 31-year history, more than 80 percent of our recommendations have been adopted by organizations and government bodies in a position to effect improvements in transportation safety.

Recreational boating fatalities are very high, even exceeding fatalities in aviation accidents. In 2000, 701 persons were killed in boating accidents in this country. Other information indicates that recreational boating also has a high number of injuries. Information from an American Red Cross survey indicates that more than 355,000 persons are injured from recreational boating accidents annually, and more than 40 percent of these injuries require medical treatment beyond first aid. A study by the Centers for Disease Control, released in 1997, found that as many as 32,000 injuries from personal watercraft required medical treatment.

As a result of its concern regarding the number of boating deaths and injuries, and the prospect for increases in these numbers, the Safety Board in 1993 conducted a study of recreational boating accidents and their causes. The Board reviewed information on 407 fatal recreational boating accidents that occurred in 18 States in 1991. This information represented about 52 percent of the 779 fatal accidents that year. These accidents involved 478 fatalities and comprised about 52 percent of the 924 persons who died in boating accidents nationally in 1991.

The Safety Board also reviewed data from the Coast Guard and asked 18 States to provide information on their 1991 fatal boating accident investigations. Safety studies performed by other organizations were reviewed. Further, the Board conducted detailed investigation of three recreational boating accidents in 1992 in which a total of 13 persons died, including 4 children and 2 teenagers.

The Safety Board was quite disturbed by the minimal use of personal flotation devices (PFDs) that it found in its investigations of fatal recreational boating accidents. One particular accident in Arkansas that was investigated by the Safety Board highlights the Board's concerns.

At about 11:30 on a Sunday morning, a 9-person family boarded a family-owned boat at a public boat launching area on the Fourche La Fave River near Perryville, Arkansas. The family, which included a man, a woman, and children ranging in age from 16 months to 14 years, intended to go down the river to fish from the bank. The man and a 12-year-old girl were the only persons on board the boat who were able to swim. The 14-foot long aluminum boat had a 9.9-horsepower outboard motor. It was open and flat-bottomed, with four bench seats. Neither the boat nor the passengers were equipped with PFDs. Arkansas did not require motorboats of less than 10 horsepower to carry PFDs.

The weather was clear, visibility was good, there were light winds, and the temperature was 90 degrees. At the site of the accident, the river was approximately 80 feet wide, and its depth at the center varied from 9 to 50 feet.

As the boat headed downstream, water splashed on the boy and girl who were sitting in the front seat. They moved rearward, causing the boat to flood. It sank in the middle of the river, in about 14 feet of water, and about 100 feet downstream from the boat launching area. A 12 year-old girl swam the 30 to 40 feet to shore, and a 14 year-old girl supported herself in the water by holding onto the bow of the boat, which remained above the surface.

Two fishermen, who arrived at the boat-launching area shortly after the accident, found the 12-year-old on the riverbank and the 14-year-old holding onto the boat. The men entered the water and brought the 14-year-old ashore. One of the rescuers searched the riverbank for more survivors. He found a 4-year-old in the water, near the riverbank, in the approximate area of the accident. She was unconscious. Although he administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the child was pronounced dead upon arrival at a local hospital. Officials started a search by boat, and found five other victims that day and one the next day.

The Safety Board's investigation of this accident concluded that the lack of PFDs contributed to the loss of these seven lives.

Another brief example shows the effectiveness of PFDs in very different circumstances:

Three men launched a small inflatable vinyl plastic raft on the Arkansas River near Swissvale, Colorado. After traveling about 2 miles, they started through a rapid. Their raft was thrown sideways, hit a small rock, and capsized, throwing all three men into the water. Two men wearing PFDs struggled and eventually reached the riverbank. Although there were three PFDs on board the raft, the third man was not wearing one, and he drowned in the accident.

It is notable that a Colorado State park ranger had spotted the three men earlier in the day. Observing that one of the rafters was not wearing a PFD, the ranger made contact with the men and, after determining that the correct number of PFDs were on board, recommended that the remaining rafter also wear his PFD. The rafter asked if he was legally required to wear a PFD and was told that he was not, whereupon he did not put it on, despite the fact that he could not swim. This man was the same individual who drowned in the accident later in the day. The two other men in the raft, both of whom were wearing PFDs, survived.

Of the 478 fatalities that occurred in the accidents examined in our study, 351 resulted from drowning. Of those who drowned and for whom information on PFD use was available, 85 percent (281) did not wear PFDs.

Of course, PFDs will not save every life. Hypothermia, injury, unconsciousness, and other factors will still cause casualties. In addition, improper PFD use may result in drownings. But, a review of the 281 drownings in which the victims were not wearing a PFD suggests that as many as 238 persons may have survived had they been correctly wearing a PFD. Only in 15 percent of these cases were there factors that PFDs may not have been able to overcome.

It is incumbent on the States to increase the level of PFD usage. States can achieve this objective by mandating PFD usage for children and for persons involved in recreational boating activities or situations that are perceived as dangerous. Examples of these activities include boating in rough or hazardous waters, use of personal watercraft, water skiing, and solo vessel operation. Thirty-seven States and the District of Columbia currently have some type of PFD requirement.

The Safety Board supports increased PFD use by children and by all persons on board personal watercraft. As a result of its study, the Safety Board recommended that the States consider requiring greater use of PFDs and making their use by children mandatory. The Board also believes that requiring children to wear PFDs will eventually result in more adults wearing PFDs, such as occurred with the use of child safety seats and safety belts in automobiles.

Currently, 38 jurisdictions require children to wear PFDs. Virginia only requires water skiers and personal watercraft users to wear PFDs. S.B. 47, the measure before you, would require all children under age 12 to wear a PFD while on board a motorboat. We believe that this is a reasonable first step toward preventing tragedies such as those we have been called upon to investigate.

Thank you for providing the National Transportation Safety Board an opportunity to testify about this important safety initiative. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.