Alcohol Use Among Recreational Boaters

Factors for Intervention to Prevent Boating Accidents

Mar 3, 2009

Alcohol use is known to affect the ability of boat operators and is negatively associated with boating incidents. Australian researchers study its effects on boaters.

Recreational boating enjoys interest worldwide. Researchers in Australia noticed that boat incidents accounted for more harm to people than all the country's railroad and aircraft accidents combined. Recreational boating was second only to motor vehicle incidents as a source of injuries and death. As with motor vehicle use, alcohol consumption is considered an important risk factor in boating injuries and fatalities.

Investigators from the University of Western Australia, J.R. Miller and T.J. Pikora, recently published a paper in Accident Analysis & Prevention titled "Alcohol consumption among recreational boaters: Factors for intervention" that looked at the issues surrounding alcohol use and boating accidents.

Records were obtained from the Marine Safety Directorate, which is the agency in Australia that maintains boat registration records for the region studied. Among the boat owners, 1500 were chosen for participation in a safety survey. The researchers eventually spoke with 500 boaters and asked them about alcohol use, safe boating behaviors, their experience on the water and if they had completed a boating safety education program.

Results of the Australian Boating Safety Investigation

The majority of those surveyed had been boating for more than ten years, did not belong to a boating association and were males over 45 years of age. Four questions posed in the survey focused on alcohol use and boating. Boater opinions were:

Researchers had some worry from the results that boaters that had completed a boating safety course were actually drinking more often on the water. They couldn’t correlate this with a sense of overconfidence, an omission in the training curriculum or the age and experience of those surveyed. In general, recreational boaters in Western Australia understand the effects of alcohol use and operation of a boat. Investigators felt the results could be skewed because to the self-reporting nature of the survey. Boaters may be reluctant to share accurate information about their drinking habits with others.

Research Conclusions

Miller and Pikora recommend stricter alcohol testing requirements following major boating accidents. A discussion of the effects of alcohol use needs to be included in boating safety education programs. Researchers believe their study supports the notion that further study needs to be conducted on the effects of alcohol use in recreational boating accidents. Efforts need to be made to monitor boating safety educational programs and legislative actions to determine if these strategies are affecting safety behaviors.

The copyright of the article Alcohol Use Among Recreational Boaters in Boat Safety & Maintenance is owned by Alan Sorum. Permission to republish Alcohol Use Among Recreational Boaters in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.