{"id":30662,"date":"2020-05-15T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=30662"},"modified":"2020-05-15T08:56:40","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T12:56:40","slug":"maryland-honors-national-safe-boating-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2020\/05\/15\/maryland-honors-national-safe-boating-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Honors National Safe Boating Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Safety is Essential as Boating Season Ramps Up<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright \" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/3917\/14433884988_f832190793.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of NRP officer assisting swimmers in the Severn River\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" \/>In recognition of National Safe Boating Week, May 16-22, 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/nrp\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maryland Natural Resources Police<\/a> recommend boaters not only follow safe boating practices, but continue following updated <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2020\/05\/06\/frequently-asked-questions-about-governor-hogans-stay-at-home-order\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">guidance for social distancing and outdoor recreation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to protect themselves against COVID-19 transmission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Following the governor\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/governor.maryland.gov\/recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Roadmap to Recovery<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the state has expanded opportunities for outdoor exercise and recreation in the state. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the kickoff of boating season in Maryland, the department urges boaters to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and others in order to have a safe boating experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last year, Maryland had 144 reportable boating accidents; 65 of those accidents caused injuries and 16 were fatal, resulting in 20 deaths. These numbers are up from the previous year, where Maryland saw 132 reportable boating accidents, 58 injury accidents and 13 fatal accidents resulting in 17 deaths.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe cannot allow these numbers to continue to rise and the key to that is to focus strongly on education and enforcement,\u201d Maryland Natural Resources Police Superintendent Col. Adrian Baker said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Maryland Department of Natural Resources offers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/nrp\/Pages\/BoatingSafety\/home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">boating safety classes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> online and through video teleconferencing. Statewide, in-person classes will resume when safely possible. Also, Natural Resources Police conduct routine safety checks to make sure boaters have all the required equipment they need on board to be safe in the water. Officers will wear personal protective equipment and take all precautions necessary to protect boaters and themselves against COVID-19 transmission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Maryland Natural Resources Police, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Safe Boating Council, offer these safety tips for boating and social distancing during the 2020 season:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Always wear<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">File a float plan with a family member or friend with the details of your trip in the event of an emergency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Carry all required boating safety equipment such as flares, a fire extinguisher, a horn or whistle, a first aid kit, throwable life jackets, line, etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check navigation lights prior to your departure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stay at least six feet away from other people who do not live in your household. If necessary, limit the passengers on your boat to those who reside with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Have no more than 10 people, including captain and crew, aboard a vessel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boats should be distanced from each other by at least 10 feet and avoid rafting up, beaching, or having rendezvous events where prohibited by law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maintain safe distance at the launch ramps, fuel dock or loading up at the marina.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wash hands frequently or use a hand sanitizer after touching things such as a marina gate, dock lines, pilings, fuel pump etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Go right from your house to the boat and back to limit unnecessary contact with others.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pack food, water, and other things you may need as restaurants and marina stores may not be open.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Never boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Avoid distracted boating and travel at safe speeds. Check the <a href=\"https:\/\/maryland.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/webappviewer\/index.html?id=42260be2ce4d4b349c12698a685e7c2d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maryland DNR speed zone map<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Have more than one form of communication that works when wet.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/pages\/dnrapp.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AccessDNR mobile app<\/a> for essential boating information.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Safety is Essential as Boating Season Ramps Up In recognition of National Safe Boating Week, May 16-22, 2020, Maryland Natural Resources Police recommend boaters not only follow safe boating practices, but continue following updated guidance for social distancing and outdoor recreation to protect themselves against COVID-19 transmission.\u00a0 Following the governor\u2019s Roadmap to Recovery, the state<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2020\/05\/15\/maryland-honors-national-safe-boating-week\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,3171,14],"tags":[5043,3736,4975,3165],"class_list":["post-30662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-boating","category-nrp-news","tag-adrian-baker","tag-boating-safety","tag-maryland-natural-resources-police","tag-u-s-coast-guard"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30662"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30669,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30662\/revisions\/30669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}