{"id":36172,"date":"2022-05-26T12:22:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T16:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=36172"},"modified":"2022-05-31T08:40:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T12:40:24","slug":"maryland-urges-waterway-safety-as-boating-season-hits-full-throttle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2022\/05\/26\/maryland-urges-waterway-safety-as-boating-season-hits-full-throttle\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Urges Waterway Safety as Boating Season Hits Full Throttle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Safe Practices Can Help Avoid Tragedy\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 362px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/61\/30799834844_96697e3242.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of group of officers in two boats\" width=\"352\" height=\"235\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maryland Department of Natural Resources photo<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The outdoor temperature is rising, and Maryland\u2019s waterways are about to get a lot busier. The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) reminds anglers, boaters, swimmers, and all waterway users to take proper precautions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2021, Maryland had 145 reportable boating accidents; 51 of those accidents caused injuries, and six were fatal. These numbers are down from the previous year when Maryland saw 155 reportable boating accidents, 64 injuries, and six fatal accidents resulting in seven deaths.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although boating accidents are decreasing, those who enter waterways must continue to practice safe boating. NRP is dedicated to educating and protecting Marylanders; this boating season officers will once again be out in force to engage the public about safe waterway practices and to enforce the law on unsafe, negligent, and impaired boating.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While it is important that everyone has an enjoyable boating experience, safety must come first. Boaters are encouraged to wear a life jacket because it drastically reduces the chance of a fatality, and citations will be issued to those who fail to carry a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket or the required safety equipment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;Safety is our No. 1 priority and officers will be out in full force, but accidents sometimes happen more quickly than our officers can respond,&#8221; NRP\u00a0 Superintendent Col. Adrian Baker said. \u201cWe encourage Marylanders to take the proper precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones from the unpredictable. Take the extra step to ensure your and your family&#8217;s safety by taking a boating safety class, getting your vessel inspected, and operating sober.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are some helpful tips for water way users to \u201cknow before you go\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Always wear 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, advising them of trip details 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, fire extinguisher, horn or whistle, first aid kit, throwable life jackets, line, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check navigation lights prior to departure.<\/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.<\/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 U.S. Coast Guard app and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/pages\/dnrapp.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland AccessDNR<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> app for easy reference information on Maryland\u2019s waterways.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Safe Practices Can Help Avoid Tragedy\u00a0 The outdoor temperature is rising, and Maryland\u2019s waterways are about to get a lot busier. The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) reminds anglers, boaters, swimmers, and all waterway users to take proper precautions.\u00a0 In 2021, Maryland had 145 reportable boating accidents; 51 of those accidents caused injuries, and six<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2022\/05\/26\/maryland-urges-waterway-safety-as-boating-season-hits-full-throttle\/\">&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":[957,3171,14,33],"tags":[5043,3197,3736,4975],"class_list":["post-36172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-boating","category-nrp-news","category-the-bay","tag-adrian-baker","tag-boating","tag-boating-safety","tag-maryland-natural-resources-police"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36172","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=36172"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36175,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36172\/revisions\/36175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}