This summer DEM, in conjunction with Newport Creamery, conducted an ice cream coupon giveaway to youths we observed wearing life jackets while in a vessel. DEM's boating safety educational campaign this summer also included a poster contest for fifth and sixth graders. Winning posters were reproduced and used at marinas throughout the state. DEM Director Andy McLeod said at the time that the campaign was aimed at reaching children at an early age. If they develop the habit of wearing life jackets early on, it will stay with them always, just as wearing a bicycle helmet or using a seat belt typically becomes automatic.
Life jackets save lives.
Eight out of ten boating fatalities, he added, occur on boats where the operator has no boating safety education. In Rhode Island, children under the age of 11 must wear an approved life jacket while riding in any vessel less than 26 feet long on any waters in the state. People are asked to include as many details as possible in their testimonials, such as the conditions under which the accident occurred, where it took place, and, if possible, the type of personal flotation device that was used. The Division will forward the testimonials to the National Safe Boating Council.