Oregon plays host to a wide array of gorgeous and often dangerous bodies of water that stretch from Brookings to the top of the Cascade Mountains to the deserts of Eastern Oregon.
Recreational & Commercial boaters should always make sure their skills and boating gear is adequate for the water ways they enter. Of course accidents can happen for any reason: about 80 percent or more of boating related fatalities could be prevented if the victims were wearing life jackets. The stats below illustrate this point very well.
With an average of about 70 boating accidents a year in Oregon, over 200 people have died in the last 10 years from boating related accidents.
Accidents on the Water:
- House Boats
- Jet Ski
- Waverunner
- Crabbing Boats
- Kayaking
- Tugboats
- Fishing Boats
- Wakeboarding Boats
- Water Skiing
- Longshoreman
Oregon Boating Accidents:
|
Year
|
Registered Boats
|
Accidents*
|
Fatalities
|
Oregon Fatality Rate**
|
U.S. Fatality Rate**
|
Fatalities
- U.S. |
|
2008
|
180,063 | 60 | 13 | .72 | - | - |
| 2007 | 184,147 | 66 | 9 | .49 | - | - |
| 2006 | 186,497 | 66 | 20 | 1.07 | .56 | 710 |
| 2005 | 187,640 | 74 | 15 | 8.0 | .54 | 697 |
| 2004 | 190,142 | 54 | 8 | 4.2 | .42 | 676 |
| 2003 | 197,591 | 74 | ***18 | 9.2 | 5.5 | 703 |
| 2002 | 194,582 | 80 | ***16 | 8.2 | 5.8 | 750 |
| 2001 | 194,615 | 70 | 14 | 7.2 | 5.3 | 681 |
| 2000 | 194,828 | 100 | 14 | 7.2 | 5.5 | 701 |
| 1999 | 196,102 | 98 | 16 | 8.2 | 5.8 | 734 |
| 1998 | 197,634 | 120 | 20 | 10.1 | 6.5 | 815 |
| 1997 | 197,315 | 123 | 19 | 9.6 | 6.7 | 821 |
| 1996 | 195,080 | 115 | 8 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 709 |
| 1995 | 191,915 | 144 | 18 | 9.4 | 7.1 | 829 |
| 1994 | 188,792 | 121 | 10 | 5.3 | 6.9 | 784 |
| 1993 | 184,007 | 85 | 25 | 13.6 | 7.1 | 800 |
| 1992 | 180,138 | 94 | 9 | 5.0 | 7.4 | 816 |
| 1991 | 177,134 | 110 | 22 | 12.4 | 8.3 | 924 |
| 1990 | 173,572 | 107 | 7 | 3.5 | 7.9 | 865 |
* It is estimated that only 10 to 15 percent of reportable accidents are actually reported.
** Rate per 10,000 registered boats
*** These statistics do not reflect fatalities involving guided or commercial fishing trips.
Did you know that Alaska leads the United States in boating related deaths? Hawaii is second. The failure to wear a life jacket was among the leading factors in death nationwide.
