Statistics

STATISTICS

76% of all PWC accidents in 1998 were collisions—70% with other vessels, and 6% with fixed objects¹
With Exposure Hours factored in, PWC are 6 times more likely to be involved in an injury accident than an open motor boat²
PWC injury accidents are significantly under-reported Data captured through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System shows that between 1990 and 1995 an estimated 32,954 persons with PWC-related injuries were treated in US hospital Emergency Departments, of which 3.5% were hospitalized. PWC-related injuries increased from an estimated 2860 in 1990 to more than 12, 000 in 1995. During that same 5-year period, the number of PWC in operation increased 3 times, and the number of injuries increased 4 times. The rate of ED-treated injuries related to PWC was about 8.5 times greater than the rate from motorboats.³

Discussion of Statistics as a mode of determining what education is needed:

An argument has been made that statistics can be manipulated for the purposes of the manipulator. No doubt that is true. Let us look at the motives of persons who have gathered and disseminated the statistics reported above.

Q. What could be their motive in reporting the high statistic on PWC collisions? Where did they get those numbers?

A. The US Coast Guard is the central reporting agency, which gathers boating accident information from all 50 states. The Coast Guard Safety office analyses the data reported and makes safety recommendations to marine manufacturers, and when necessary intervenes on behalf of the consumer to insure the boating public’s safety. The Coast Guard is heavily involved in search and rescue operations and is very familiar with accident scenarios. Motive? Save lives.

2. Heiden & Associates: Hired by Kawasaki, Polaris, and Yamaha to survey the boating public. Analysis and data supplied to the USCG.

Q. How did they decide what a boating exposure hour is for a PWC or an open motorboat?

A. Riding time included time away from the dock, shore, or launch point for both PWC and open motorboat. 60 percent of total open motorboat time was spent in operation, and 77 percent of PWC time was spent in operation. Motive: Try to understand what the real risks of accident were from vessels reporting similar exposure hours. Possible secondary motive: Hope to show PWC operation was not that risky. (Unhappily, not so.)

3. Branche et. Al. Emergency Department and other Health Officials.

Q. Are they trying to make PWC look bad? Why does their report differ so much from the USCG?

USCG stats for 1995 show only 3,986 PWC injuries. The ER Docs are saying 12,000—that makes USCG stats only ? the number seen in the ER. What gives?

A. The Coast Guard is not everywhere at once, and some people don’t want to get "in trouble" so they don’t fill out an accident report, even though it is required. As for the ER Docs, there are strict penalties for falsifying medical records. There is no reason to suspect a conspiracy by doctors who treat trauma. Instead, maybe we should suspect a need to reverse the growing trend in PWC accidents so they don’t have to go home so often thinking about the carnage they have seen. Motive? Prevent Accidents.

4. The Coalition of Parents and Families for Personal Watercraft Safety

Q. Why put out all this "negative" stuff about PWC? Are you sure you don’t want to ban them?

A. There are many entities now involved in the PWC Safety Discussion. At least one study has been ordered and then pulled because of misconduct, which might have shed light remedies for loss of steering off throttle. At least two years were wasted, almost 300 people died in that time on PWC, and 17,000 injuries were reported to the USCG. (No continual tracking system is in place in Emergency Departments, so unless someone else funds a similar study to Branche et. Al. we will not see new material.) We cannot afford to wait while more people are injured and killed. It will be a nice day when we have a dramatic downturn in PWC injuries and deaths to report, and when that downturn stays consistent. OK if it makes you mad, but better if it makes you take a boater education class, and exercise caution at all times while operating PWC while the "powers that be" get all the legal and technical stuff worked through. That looks like years, and even when the design is changed to include real off-throttle steering, we will continue to have challenges with proper safety gear, appropriate training for the type and speed capabilities of the craft, and appropriate age and training of all PWC operators. We are here for the long term. Yes, we’re sure we don’t want to ban them. If we get on that bandwagon, nobody who likes PWC will talk with us, work with us, or assist us in saving lives and preventing injuries. Motive: Save lives, prevent injuries.

A final word about statistics. If you want to seriously look at a problem with prevention in mind, you have to study the problem, taking in all the information you can. The best information we have is not complete, but it is the best information we have. Rather than quibble over the unhappy news that PWC represent disproportionate numbers of collisions and trauma on accident reports; let’s give some credence to the information that we have. People are more than statistics—they are wonderfully made, and completely irreplaceable.