| Next week is National Safe Boating Week, the beginning of the 2018 Safe Boating Campaign, a yearlong effort that aims to spread messages about boating safety and the importance of wearing a life jacket. Drowning was the cause of death in three out of every four recreational boating fatalities in 2016 and of those, 83 percent were not wearing a life jacket, according to U.S. Coast Guard statistics. Boaters interested in trading in an old life jacket for a brand-new one can exchange them from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday at boat ramps on Bartlett Lake, Lake Pleasant and in Lake Havasu City (Type I and Type II life jackets will not be accepted): Boaters can swap old, worn-out life jackets for a brand new one in the appropriate size. State law requires all passengers 12 years old and younger to wear a life jacket while on board and each passenger must have a properly fitting, U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket available. |
