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Personal watercraft (PWC), also commonly known as Jet Skis, WaveRunners or Sea-Doos, have become increasingly popular since their introduction to the water sports world approximately three decades ago. As a result of the rise of popularity of personal watercraft in the last three decades, the hazards that accompany the use of such watercraft have also increased. Many accidents are caused yearly as a result of reckless driving, driver inattention, excessive speed, off-throttle steering, and several other causes. Although many precautionary measures have been taken in many states in the U.S.A. in order to regulate and educate PWC riders, accidents involving one or more PWC still occur and are very harmful and many times fatal.

PWC

Personal watercraft are vessels designed for 2- 4 people for recreational use on the water. The U.S. Coast Guard defines PWC as “craft less than 13 feet in length designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing or kneeling on the craft rather than within the confines of a hull.” The original PWC were manufactured in the 1970s as single-rider vessels. It wasn’t until 1986 when the first tandem models were introduced. A rider stands or sits on a PWC similar to a snowmobile on water. PWC have an inboard engine with a screw-shaped impeller to create thrust and propulsion for steering. PWC are small, fast, easy to handle, affordable and because they do not have external propellers, they are safer for swimmers and wildlife. This has contributed to the increase of popularity among users with less experience with water vessels and water recreation.

Accidents

PWC-related accidents occur anytime a PWC collides with another vessel or object. There are varying degrees of accidents ranging from minor to fatal. The rate and cause of accidents is difficult to report because the regulating agencies differ by state and by country. As the sport has become globally popular government agencies have made attempts to report and regulate use and accidents of PWC. (i.e. A study on PWC accidents and hazards done by the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States in 1998.) The U.S. Coast Guard reported that 24% of all boating accidents involved one or more PWC in the year 2006. In California, for example, PWC account for 18% of the registered vessels and 24% of all boating accidents. Accidents involving PWC continually rose along with the number of registered vessels up until the study completed by the National Transportation Safety Board in 1998, after which certain laws were introduced, which helped regulate PWC use. Accident statistics continued to rise for several years afterwards, however, several states, including California, reported a downward trend in PWC-related accidents in the years after 2002. This decrease is apparently attributable to varying state laws enacted around 1998. In many states, these laws include the prohibition of jumping the wake of another vessel within 100 feet of the other vessel, spraying down other vessels and playing “Chicken.” These activities may constitute endangerment of life, limb or property. Other laws include rising the minimum age required to operate PWC. In many states the age was raised from 12 to 16, and in several states a boating safety course is also mandatory for anyone under the age of 18.

Causes

Reckless Driving

The leading cause of PWC accidents among riders in 2007 was reckless or careless driving. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the U.S. this accounted for 26.3% of all PWCs involved in accidents in 2007. Reckless driving has been defined in the Personal Watercraft Act of 2005 in the U.S. with the following definitions:

Every personal watercraft shall at all times be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. No person shall operate a personal watercraft in an unsafe or reckless manner. Unsafe personal watercraft operation shall include, but not be limited to the following: (1) Becoming airborne or completely leaving the water while crossing the wake of another vessel within [100 feet] of the vessel creating the wake.
(2) Weaving through congested traffic.
(3) Operating a vessel at greater than slow/no wake speed within [100 feet] of an anchored or moored vessel, shoreline, vessel underway, dock, pier, boat ramp, marina, swim float, marked swim area, person in the water, person(s) engaged in angling, or any manually-propelled vessel.
(4) Operating contrary to the “Rules of the Road” or following too close to another vessel, including another personal watercraft. For the purposes of this section, following too close shall be construed as proceeding in the same direction and operating at a speed in excess of [10 MPH] when approaching within [100 feet] to the rear or [50 feet] to the side of another motorboat or sailboat which is underway unless such vessel is operating in a narrow channel, in which case a personal watercraft may operate at speed and flow of other vessel traffic.

Reckless driving is also defined differently in every state. i.e. In the state of Florida reckless driving on a PWC is defined as “Maneuvering a personal watercraft by weaving through congested vessel traffic, jumping the wake of another vessel unreasonably close or when visibility around the vessel is obstructed, or swerving at the last possible moment to avoid collision is classified as reckless operation of a vessel” In the U.S. code the penalties for operating a vessel in a negligent or reckless manner are defined as following: (a) A person operating a vessel in a negligent manner or interfering with the safe operation of a vessel, so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of a person is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 in the case of a recreational vessel, or $25,000 in the case of any other vessel. (b) A person operating a vessel in a grossly negligent manner that endangers the life, limb, or property of a person commits a class A misdemeanor.

Driver Inattention

Because of the increasing popularity of water sports and particularly PWC, the number of overall vessels in use has drastically increased in the course of the past 2 decades. According to the U.S. Coast Guard the number of registered vessels in 1980 was 8,557,857 in contrast to the 12,875,568 registered vessels in 2007. This causes much more crowded waterways and increased hazards for all vessels. Because of the increased congestion caused by the number of vessels, a heightened need for attention and caution is required of the operators of all vessels. 17.2 % of all PWC-related accidents in 2007 were caused by driver inattention. The popularity of PWC among younger operators possibly contributes to this problem. Many times younger riders participate in boating activities in larger groups of friends as opposed to adults who ride with their own children. A younger crowd could be more prone to show-off or attempt radical maneuvers without paying much attention to their surroundings, whereas older adults tend to be more cautious.

Excessive Speed

As the market has grown for PWC manufacturers the quality of vessel has also increased. Some PWC on the water today have the capability to reach speeds of almost 70 mph and more than 250 Horsepower. Many times speed is the desired rush of excitement that is sought after by PWC operators. The ability to be alone on the water and racing at speeds as fast as driving a car on the highway can be very exhilarating. However, as one can imagine, with very little or no protective gear worn by most riders, without an operator restraint system, and without an effective braking system, such high speeds are extremely dangerous. Excessive speed accounted for almost 15% of all PWC-related accidents in 2007 according to the U.S. Coast Guard. PWC are often used in competition racing and as a result, the manufacturers have drastically improved the capability of PWC in order to increase the speed. This is often times abused by drivers not trained to operate such a vessel at high speeds resulting in accident, injury and even death. Besides the regulations mentioned in accordance with reckless driving, rarely is a speed limit enforced in boating laws.

Off Throttle Steering

A PWC uses a moveable nozzle connected to a jet pump, rather than a propeller, to

power the vessel. This characteristic affects how the watercraft is steered. Thus the more the driver accelerates the more responsive the steering is because of the propulsion coming from the jet pump. When the driver releases from the acceleration the effectiveness of the steering also severely decreases. In an attempt to avoid any harmful hazards, the natural tendency of most drivers is to slow down and not accelerate. One can see that danger could occur when trying to steer away from a potentially hazardous situation while not accelerating. As the operator turns the handle bars the jet pump is turned in order to provide propulsion to power the vessel in the desired direction. However, when no force is coming from the jet pump, the jet pump acts as a mere weak rudder, which aids very little in turning the vessel without propulsion. As the steering effectiveness is severely decreased many accidents result from a lack of control of the vessel. This condition is called “off-throttle steering.” The term is an oxymoron because there is little or no steering capability when the throttle is off. Personal watercraft have no braking mechanism. In order to come to a complete stop they must coast. While coasting there is no steering possibility. In order to make a correct turn to avoid a collision one must control the speed of the vessel and accelerate enough to be able to turn; To a new operator this may feel like speeding toward a hazard. The NTSB related an example of off-throttle steering accidents in the personal watercraft safety study of 1998 as follows:

The Florida Marine Patrol accident description states, “[Operator] was attempting to make a turn south through a cut in the mangroves . . . . He was not real familiar with operating a jet ski with a passenger. When he attempted to make a left turn he let off the throttle which caused the PWC to lose steering capabilities. The forward momentum of the PWC took [operator] and passenger into the mangrove shoreline. [Operator] received a puncture wound to the left side of his neck . . . .”

According to the NTSB, 24% of reported PWC accidents have steering problems or loss of control as contributing factors.

In Florida it is the second leading cause of PWC-related accidents. Many PWC manufacturers have been working in recent years to develop a prevention system for off-throttle steering. Certain modifications have been made to aid this problem in the recent models of PWC, however it is still a common occurrence.

Driver inexperience

Because of the ease in operating PWC little training and experience is required in order to complete basic maneuvers of a PWC, lack of necessary experience and apparent popularity of PWC among younger riders results in lack of experience and training that is necessary in order to properly operate such a vessel in a potentially dangerous situation. The NTSB reported that 32% of all operators involved in accidents reported that they had operated a vessel between zero and ten times prior to the accident: 86 never, 75 once, and 225 between 2 and 10 times. Of the 712 operators who were asked about training, 84 percent said they had received no training and the other 16 percent had participated in some sort of boating training. The regulations regarding training courses and age limits of operators vary by state and by country. In the U.S. the minimum operators age ranges from 12 – 18 many times an operator of that age requires an adult supervision on the vessel and varying degrees of training to be completed.

Conclusion

Recreational PWC use can be very dangerous as a result of the many hazards that are posed by the circumstances surrounding PWC use. Although governmental agencies have attempted and continue to attempt to amend and instigate laws and regulations to secure the safety of all who use recreational waterways, PWC-related accidents often occur as a result of a variety of causes, and can be often extremely dangerous. Many other causes of accidents exist, which are not discussed in this paper. These include but are not limited to: lack of proper look out, violation of navigation rules, alcohol use, etc. The causes described here are the top five causes of PWC-related accidents according to the government-based agencies in the United States of America. PWC can be used as a source of safe and enjoyable entertainment and recreation so long as they are operated and function correctly and the other operators of other vessels on the waterways do the same.