658 fatalities occurred in boating accidents in 2017.
Where a cause of death was known, 76% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of those drowning victims, 84.5% were reported to not be wearing a life jacket.
Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents; it was the leading factor in 19% of deaths.
81% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction. Only 14% percent of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had received a nationally-approved boating safety education certificate.
There were 172 accidents in which at least one person was struck by a propeller. Collectively, these accidents resulted in 31 deaths and 162 injuries.
Operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience, machinery failure, and alcohol use rank as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents.
The vessel types with the highest percentage of deaths were open motorboats (47%), kayaks (15%), and personal watercraft (7%).