Father and son yachting in the sunlight. 

This week is National Safe Boating Week, from May 21 to 27. As part of the national event, held annually in the week leading up to Memorial Day, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources conservation police are reminding Illinois residents to wear life jackets anytime they're on the water and to only operate boats while sober.

"Wearing a life jacket isn’t just a reminder for everyone on a motorboat; it’s also important for everyone who enjoys paddle sports, such as kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards," Illinois Conservation Police Lt. Curt Lewis said in a statement. 

In 2021, there were 93 reportable boating accidents on Illinois waters, which resulted in 28 injuries and 16 fatalities, according to data from the conservation police. That follows 81 boating accidents with 21 fatalities and 36 injuries in 2020. In 2019, there were 72 accidents with 14 fatalities and 42 injuries. 

Most accidents occur between noon and 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays between June and August, according to boating accident reports, with conditions usually clear with good visibility, light winds and calm waters. Most accidents involve operators between the ages of 20 and 40 who have more than 100 hours of boating experience but little or no classroom boating safety instruction. 

Accidents also usually involve open motorboats cruising in a careless or reckless manner, culminating in a collision with another boat, the state wrote.

"Everyone enjoying the waterways needs to make safety their priority," Lewis stated. "Wearing a life jacket can save your life, and staying sober while operating a boat is not only common sense, it's the law." 

Officers strictly enforce laws regarding the operation of watercraft under the influence for boat operators as part of the Illinois Conservation Police boating safety enforcement effort. Operating a boat under the influence is, in some ways, riskier than operating a motor vehicle under the influence, Lewis said. 

In 2021, Illinois Conservation Police officers arrested 65 boaters for operating under the influence, a 36% decrease from 2020. Four of the 16 boating-related fatalities in Illinois in 2021 involved alcohol or drug impairment and the other 12 who died were not wearing life jackets or vests. 

Illinois law requires that personal floatation devices be available for each person aboard a boat or other watercraft. Effective June 1, no person may operate a watercraft in the state of Illinois unless everyone under the age of 13 on the deck or in an open watercraft is wearing an approved and appropriately sized PFD. 

The requirement does not apply to people who are inside a cabin or below the top deck on a watercraft, or an anchored watercraft that is a platform for swimming or diving, or aboard a charter "passenger for hire" watercraft with a licensed captain.

Illinois law requires everyone operating a personal watercraft or jet ski to wear a PFD. The most proactive action boaters can take to ensure their safety is to wear a Coast Guard-approved PFD of the appropriate size and in serviceable condition. 

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources offers free boating safety courses, taught by volunteer instructors and available throughout Illinois, that provide a review of boating laws and regulations as well as instruction on the safe and attentive operation of watercraft. Boaters of all ages are encouraged to take a safety course and anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1998, must pass a course and have a valid Boating Safety Certificate to operate a motorboat with over 10 horsepower. Boating safety education is also required for people ages 12 to 17 to operate a motorboat. 

Shepard Price has a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Texas and lives in St. Louis. They have been in journalism for more than four years.