Wearing A Life Jacket Should Be A New Year’s Resolution
Boating fatalities commonly involve individuals not wearing a life jacket.
The importance of wearing a life jacket while recreating on Arizona’s waterways is
sadly reflected in the most recent statistics involving boating tragedies.
A significant number of the recreational boating fatalities were individuals who
drowned and were not wearing a life jacket — the most important piece of safety gear one can
wear, whether on a boat, personal watercraft or paddlecraft.
This was the case for three of the six fatalities that occurred last year. And it’s a number
that’s echoed nationally: According to recent statistics, 50 percent of drowning victims in 2025
were not wearing a life jacket.
“It’s certainly not too late to make boating safety a New Year’s resolution,” said Kim
Jackson, boating and OHV education program manager for the Arizona Game and Fish
Department (AZGFD). “Designate a sober operator, wear a life jacket, and ensure that others on
your boat do so as well.”
AZGFD aims to keep the public safe by patrolling the state’s waterways, as well as by
providing education on best practices for boating safety and operation. Law enforcement efforts,
including sobriety checkpoints and participation in initiatives like Operation Dry Water, allow
officers to make contact with watercraft users throughout the state and share important messages
about sober boating, while helping to stop unsafe behaviors.
The Department’s Boating Safety Education courses include instruction on the basic
skills required to safely operate a boat or personal watercraft, trailering a vessel, navigational
rules, buoys, anchoring, legal requirements, boating emergencies, water sports, and paddling.
As a reminder, life jackets must be worn by children 12 and younger anytime they are
on board a boat or watercraft, and that a properly fitting life jacket must be available for all
passengers. They are also required to be on board all paddlecraft types of vessels such as kayaks,
paddleboards, canoes, e-foils, etc.
For boaters who do not have enough life jackets (or the right sizes) for everyone, more
than two dozen life jacket loaner stations have been installed at popular lakes, including Apache,
Bartlett, Canyon, Lake Havasu, Mohave, Pleasant, and Saguaro.