Alcohol, capsized boats, no safety equipment common themes in summer recreation deaths

ORILLIA, ON, June 24, 2015 /CNW/ - A ten-year snapshot into boating and off-road incidents investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has revealed that capsized boats and lack of safety equipment have been the most common factors in fatal boating incidents while alcohol leads the list of factors in off-road vehicle (ORV) incidents.             

With summer just getting started, the OPP is sharing some fatality data associated with two of Ontario's most popular summer recreational activities.

Over the past ten years (2005 – 2014), 276 people have lost their lives in 245 boating incidents and 167 people have died in 165 ORV incidents in OPP jurisdiction.  

Marine fatalities

The ten-year data revealed that a capsized boat was the leading cause in 78 of the 245 boating incidents.  Occupants falling overboard was the second leading cause with 76 such incidents. Alcohol was found to be the primary cause of 26 boating mishaps and a swamped vessel placed fourth with 14 occurrences.    

The most concerning data is that -- over the ten-year period -- life jackets and personal floatation devices (PFD) were extremely under-utilized, with 226 of the 276 deceased not wearing one at the time of the incident. Sadly, many of the victims may have otherwise survived their ordeal had they chosen to wear this important life saving equipment.

The majority of the boating victims were male (254) and 22 of them were female. Of those killed, 177 were the boat operator, 87 were passengers and in seven of the incidents, it was not known if the victim was a driver or a passenger. The other five victims were not occupants in the boat involved in the incident.     

ORV fatalities

ORV fatality data revealed that 77 of the 167 fatalities were alcohol or drug-related. Not wearing a helmet was not far behind with 74 of the deaths being linked to this factor.  Speed was a contributing factor in 51 of the incidents over the ten-year period.

Most of the victims were the driver of the ORV (153) and 14 were passengers. Of those who died, 143 were males and 24 were females.

What the Data Tells Us

According to OPP Deputy Commissioner Brad Blair, Provincial Commander, Traffic Safety and Operational Support, many of these 443 boaters and ORV riders may have been alive today had they made better decisions for themselves and their passengers before and during their outdoor adventure.

"Our data could not make it any clearer that the risks to all and the consequences for some do not change from year-to-year when mixing boating and off-roading with alcohol or drugs, driving carelessly, and not being equipped or prepared to survive an unexpected life-threatening turn of events on the water and on the trails," said Blair.

This is the third installment in a series of comprehensive statistics-based News Releases the OPP is disseminating in its effort to raise awareness of the behaviours that cause senseless, preventable collisions and incidents that result in deaths on Ontario roads, waterways and trails every year.

(See additional data below)

OPP_ALL REGIONS
Fatal Marine Vessel Incidents	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	10Yr Total
Number of Fatal Incidents	29	29	28	26	32	26	18	20	23	14	245
Persons Killed	34	36	28	30	33	28	22	22	23	20	276
Persons Killed - not wearing PFD	27	29	22	23	29	22	19	18	20	17	226
Gender of Persons Killed
Persons Killed - Female	4	4	2	3	0	0	2	2	3	2	22
Persons Killed - Male	30	32	26	27	33	28	20	20	20	18	254
User Class in Fatal Marine Vessel Incidents
Persons Killed - Drivers	17	23	17	22	27	17	8	12	21	13	177
Persons Killed - Passengers	13	10	11	6	4	10	14	10	2	7	87
Persons Killed - Unknown	2	2	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	7
Persons Killed - Non Vessel Occupant	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	5
Fatal Marine Vessel Incidents by Month
January	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
February	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
March	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
April	4	2	0	1	2	2	0	0	0	2	13
May	6	5	3	6	4	3	3	5	1	1	37
June	8	5	3	5	4	3	2	2	4	6	42
July	4	6	8	6	8	7	6	1	5	3	54
August	2	8	5	3	9	2	1	4	7	2	43
September	2	1	4	1	2	6	3	3	3	0	25
October	0	2	4	4	1	1	0	2	3	0	17
November	1	0	0	0	2	2	2	1	0	0	8
December	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	5
Fatal Marine Vessel Incidents Primary Cause
Unknown	4	1	1	3	2	2	0	0	1	0	14
Alcohol	3	7	7	4	2	1	2	0	0	0	26
Speed	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	1	8
Fell Overboard	11	9	5	5	12	10	7	3	9	5	76
Vessel Capsized	6	6	8	10	9	9	5	14	7	4	78
Vessel Swamped	2	2	0	1	3	2	2	0	1	1	14
Other	1	3	7	2	3	1	2	2	5	3	29
Fatal Off Road Vehicle Incidents	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	10Yr Total
Number of Fatal Incidents	14	15	25	17	20	17	14	12	20	11	165
Persons Killed	14	15	26	17	21	17	14	12	20	11	167
Persons Killed - Alcohol/drug-related	6	5	17	7	13	7	3	7	9	3	77
Persons Killed - Speed-related	4	7	7	8	6	6	5	4	3	1	51
Persons Killed - not wearing helmet	9	2	12	6	9	5	9	3	13	6	74
Gender of Persons Killed
Persons Killed - Female	1	3	1	4	6	2	4	2	0	1	24
Persons Killed - Male	13	12	25	13	15	15	10	10	20	10	143
User Class in Fatal Off Road Vehicle Incidents
Persons Killed - Drivers	14	15	24	14	19	16	11	10	19	11	153
Persons Killed - Passengers	0	0	2	3	2	1	3	2	1	0	14
Fatal Off Road Vehicle Incidents by Month
January	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
February	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4
March	0	1	2	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	7
April	1	2	0	1	2	2	1	1	0	0	10
May	5	2	4	2	4	0	2	1	0	1	21
June	1	4	3	5	3	1	2	0	2	4	25
July	1	1	4	1	1	4	4	2	4	1	23
August	1	2	3	4	2	3	3	2	5	2	27
September	1	0	1	2	5	1	1	1	2	0	14
October	2	0	2	1	0	5	0	3	4	1	18
November	0	2	2	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	8
December	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	6

SOURCE Ontario Provincial Police

Contacts by OPP Region: Highway Safety Division: Sergeant Kerry Schmidt, Phone: [phone]; Central Region: A/Sgt. Lynda Cranney, Phone: [phone]; East Region: Sergeant Kristine Rae, Phone: [phone]; Northwest Region: Sergeant Shelley Garr, Phone: [phone]; North East Region: Sergeant Carolle Dionne, Phone: [phone]; West Region: Sergeant Dave Rektor, Phone: [phone]