Children's life jacket update - In Other News

Boat/US Magazine, May, 2002

By the time you read this in May, you may have already read of a new federal rule requiring all children under age 13 to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while on a vessel that is underway. But the rule was withdrawn in February due to some technicalities on how it would be enforced. It is expected that the new requirement will not go into effect until next fall.

When finalized, the federal regulation will not, however, supercede existing laws in 35 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands requiring children of various ages to wear life jackets. Boaters in those states should abide by the age set in their state law (see chart). The federal rule will apply on the high seas or in the waters of the 15 states where no law currently exists: Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The Coast Guard rule will exempt children who are in an enclosed cabin or below deck but will not exempt children who are wearing a harness.

Between 1995 and 1998, 105 children died in boating accidents, 66 of them from drowning. Fortunately, fatalities of children have been decreasing from 26 in 1995 to 11 in 1998, which some attribute to more state laws.

To make it easier for boat operators, the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water has hundreds of sites around the U.S. with child-size loaner jackets available for free. To find a location, go to BoatUS.com/foundation/LJLP or call 703-823-9550, ext. 3200.

State Laws in Effect:

AL Under 8

AK Under 13

AZ Under 13

AR Under 13

CA Under 7

CT Under 12

DE Under 13

DC Under 18

FL Under 6

GA Under 10

IL Under 13

KS Under 13

KY Under 12

LA Under 13

ME Under 11

MA Under 12

MI Under 6

MS Under 13

MO Under 7

MT Under 12

NE Under 12

NH Under 6

NJ Under 13

NY Under 12

OH Under 10

OK Under 13

OR Under 13

PA Under 13

PR Under 12

RI Under 10

SC Under 12

TN Under 13

TX Under 13

UT Under 13

VT Under 12

WV Under 13