Florida: Most recreational boat accidents

[Y.B.Normal]

I mean let's face it there is absolutely no accidents in Canada right now, and there is a reason for it
The water is getting too hard

I wish I could say that about Wisconsin; we just had our first ICE BOATING accident. (Not serious, two went swimming when the boat broke through the ice.)

[Norca]

The water was not hard enough

[Divecoz]

I think it has a LOT to do with the numbers of boats you will find in Florida and our 12 month boating season. There are more boats in CA. and MI. but I will assume most are on trailers and may..... not be used very often??? SWF has a LOT of water but if your are unfamiliar with it , there is a LOT of shallow water.. We get a LOT of GUest and Snowbirds here in the winter time...

[Divecoz]

Yep January 3rd 2015 4:18 PM 81 degrees and the Harbor ( 6 x 25 miles)is like glass with a nice breeze

there are less Florida boaters in Vermont!

Duh! And why would Florida boaters want to go to Vermont to go boating? Its 81 in Orlando right now and 34 in Montpelier. Montpelier is in Vermont, isn't it?

[Be Free]

While it is true that Florida is has more accidents than any other state, it also has more boats than any other state and is only matched in length of boating season by Hawaii. The most recent numbers I can find for boat registrations and population are from the 2010 census. I used the 2013 accident statistics from the coast guard.

This places Florida at #5 in accidents per registration (Utah is #1), #3 in accidents per capita (Maine is #1), #11 in fatalities per capita (Alaska is #1) and #14 in fatalities per registration (Hawaii is #1).

I could not find any good source for the number of out of state boats in Florida or how many of the accidents involved out of state boats. I know the number of out of state boats is less than zero and I would expect the accident rate involving out of state boats to be approximately proportional to the number of out of state boats in Florida. I also suspect that the percentage of out of state boats is probably higher in Florida than in any other state.

Another thing to consider is that that there are a lot more boats in Florida than there are registrations. I personally own four boats but only one of them is required to be registered. Nationwide 21% of the USCG reported accidents involved types of boats that are not required to be registered in Florida. I don't know how that compares to other states. I only know what needs to be registered here.

[Herschel]

While it is true that Florida is has more accidents than any other state, it also has more boats than any other state and is only matched in length of boating season by Hawaii. The most recent numbers I can find for boat registrations and population are from the 2010 census. I used the 2013 accident statistics from the coast guard.

This places Florida at #5 in accidents per registration (Utah is #1), #3 in accidents per capita (Maine is #1), #11 in fatalities per capita (Alaska is #1) and #14 in fatalities per registration (Hawaii is #1).

I could not find any good source for the number of out of state boats in Florida or how many of the accidents involved out of state boats. I know the number of out of state boats is less than zero and I would expect the accident rate involving out of state boats to be approximately proportional to the number of out of state boats in Florida. I also suspect that the percentage of out of state boats is probably higher in Florida than in any other state.

Another thing to consider is that that there are a lot more boats in Florida than there are registrations. I personally own four boats but only one of them is required to be registered. Nationwide 21% of the USCG reported accidents involved types of boats that are not required to be registered in Florida. I don't know how that compares to other states. I only know what needs to be registered here.

For only your 5th post on this forum, you have proven yourself especially erudite. You get five "oranges" for your timely and cogent defense of our fine state.

[Catigale]

Be careful, Free. The caffeinated orangutans like oranges...