What to do in case of boating accidents

Staff

Published Sunday, May 23, 2004

Special to the News-Herald

Most drivers understand their collective responsibilities following an accident. You get out of your vehicle and check for injuries first, call the police or EMS, exchange information, etc. In fact, some insurance companies provide free of charge a check-list to follow in the event of an accident.

Since the weather is getting warmer and the number of recreational boats in our area are increasing, I thought a quick review of responsibilities following an accident might not be a bad idea.

First of all, the best advice I can give is to obey the Rules of the Road and you should be fine on the water. However, unfortunately, there may be circumstances where the situation gets out of control and you find yourself in an accident. What to do?

There are four conditions that require a recreational boater to fill out and send in boating accident report. These include: if a life is lost due to the accident, if any person on board a vessel disappears (under circumstances indicating possible death or injury), if someone is injured and requires medical attention beyond first aid, or if an accident occurs in which there is damage by or to the vessel and other property

Depending on whether you are boating in Virginia or North Carolina, you will need to look at the individual state threshold for damages. Every state is different so go to the state Web site and check.

How much time are you given to file a report? Again, depends on the state. Common sense dictates that in a death or disappearance you are going to want to get ahold of the authorities immediately! Look at the individual requirements, especially regarding written reports.

Who has to fill out the report of an accident? All boat owners and operators need to review this issue carefully. The accident forms are usually filled out by the vessel operator unless that person is physically unable to. If the operator is not able to, then the boat owner must fill out the accident and submit it as dictated by individual state law.

Where do you get them? For the state of Virginia go to: www.dgif.state.va.us/boating/boating_forms.html.

I strongly recommend you have the appropriate forms printed out, and onboard.

This will help guide you gather information as close to an accident as possible. More time spent following an accident the tougher it is to reconstruct.

Why are forms filled out? Besides the obvious, that it's the law, information supplied from these reports is used to refine manufacturing standards and safety laws which directly benefit the boating public.

Information gained from accident reports are further used when revising safe boating courses and other initiatives to maintain the safest possible boating environment.

Accident Forms are something most recreational boaters don't give a lot of thought to until it's too late. Hopefully this column will nudge you to review the state and federal requirements and have a set ready to go.

On a much more pleasant note, yesterday marked the start of National Safe Boating Week, the most important week of the year for your faithful boating columnist! Look for a feature story this coming week in the News-Herald on the importance of this week and things you can do to make your boating experience safer!

Until next week....Boat Safe, Boat Smart!

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