Arizona boating safety report

              Special thanks to the following agencies for their cooperation in providing accident and enforcement data for this report:
Arizona Game and Fish Department • azgfd.gov
The 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report is provided by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The data and
statistics were researched, compiled and written by Connie Giesie and Kevin Bergersen. The information was
edited by Linda J. Nofer and graphic design was provided by Carolyn Seay-Greeney.
Apache County Sheriff ’s Office
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Arizona State Parks
Bullhead City Police Department
Coconino County Sheriff ’s Office
Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department
Ft. Mohave Tribal Police Department
Gila County Sheriff ’s Office
Imperial County Sheriff ’s Office
Lake Havasu City Police Department
La Paz County Sheriff ’s Office
Maricopa County Sheriff ’s Office
Mohave County Sheriff ’s Office
National Park Service
Nevada Department of Wildlife
Tempe Police Department
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yavapai-Prescott Tribal Police
Yuma County Sheriff ’s Office
Boating Law Administrator
Kevin Bergersen
Law Enforcement Programs Coordinator
Phone: 602-789-3383
Fax: 602-789-3945
Email: kbergersen@azgfd.gov
Education
Ed Huntsman
Boating Education Program Coordinator
Phone: 602-789-3237
Fax: 602-789-3903
Email: ehuntsman@azgfd.gov
Enforcement
Ron Day
Law Enforcement Branch Chief
Phone: 602-789-3307
Fax: 602-789-3945
Email: rday@azgfd.gov
Facilities
Ron Christofferson
Boating Facilities Program Manager
Phone: 602-789-3481
Email: rchristofferson@azgfd.gov
Public Information
Linda J. Nofer
Public Information Officer
Phone: 602-789-3223
Fax: 602-789-3776
Email: lnofer@azgfd.gov
2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Boating Enforcement and Education
Titling and Registration
Madelynn Fenske
Watercraft Administrator
Phone: 602-789-3403
Fax: 602-789-3729
Email: mfenske@azgfd.gov
Training
Jay Cook
Watercraft/OHV Law Enforcement
Program Manager, Acting
Phone: 602-789-3931
Fax: 602-789-3945
Email: jcook@azgfd.gov
Stolen Watercraft
Joe Sacco
Watercraft Law Enforcement Specialist
Phone: 602-789-3382
Fax: 602-789-3945
Email: jsacco@azgfd.gov
Watercraft Accident Public
Records
Connie Giesie
Law Enforcement Programs Secretary
Phone: 602-789-3380
Fax: 602-789-3945
Email: cgiesie@azgfd.gov
azgfd.gov 1
The Arizona Game and Fish Department prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, na-tional
origin, age, or disability in its programs and activities. If anyone believes that they have been
discriminated against in any of the AGFD’s programs or activities, including employment practices,
they may file a complaint with the Deputy Director, 2221 W. Greenway Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85023, (602)
789-3290, or with the Fish and Wildlife Service, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. Ste. 130, Arlington, VA 22203.
Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation or this document in an alternative
format by contacting the Deputy Director as listed above.
Kevin Bergersen
Boating Law Administrator
Administrative Authority
The Arizona Game and Fish Department and Com-mission
have been involved in boating safety and
law enforcement since passage of the Federal Boat
Safety Act of 1971. The commission and department
derive their authority from state law contained
within the Arizona Revised Statutes Title 5.
ars 5-311 outlines the powers and duties of the
Arizona Game and Fish Commission in regard to
boating in Arizona. The commission may:
2 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Watercraft Enforcement and Education
2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
An Arizona Game and Fish Department law enforcement officer patrols Willow Beach along the
Colorado River.
• Make rules and regulations required to carry
out in the most effective manner all the provi-sions
of this chapter.
• Modify the equipment requirements in confor-mity
with the provisions of the federal navigation
laws or with the navigation regulations promul-gated
by the U.S. Coast Guard.
• Prescribe additional equipment requirements
not in conflict with federal navigation laws or
regulations.
• Provide for a uniform waterway marking system
and establish, operate and maintain aids to
navigation and regulatory markers of the state.
• Make regulations for the registration and op-eration
of watercraft.
• Prescribe regulations for the issuance of permits
for motorboat races, regattas or other water-craft
events.
• Administer law enforcement and boating safety
programs on the state level, and accept federal
grants for the purpose of boating safety and
related enforcement.
By statute, the Arizona Game and Fish Commis-sion’s
boating safety and registration mandates are
extremely broad. The department is responsible
for providing a safe watercraft recreation environ-ment,
so that Arizona’s lakes will be used, enjoyed
and appreciated by present and future generations.
Watercraft Law Enforcement
Although the Arizona Game and Fish Department
administers and provides boating law enforcement
efforts on a state level, primary law enforcement
authority resides with local agencies; state, county,
municipal, park, reservation or land management
agencies within whose
jurisdiction a body of water
lies are responsible for
watercraft law enforcement.
The Arizona Game and
Fish Department is the
administrative agency for
watercraft-related acci-dents
in Arizona. Initial
reports and investigations
are completed by the ju-risdictional
agency and
submitted to the depart-ment.
These reports are
then compiled, tabulated
and forwarded to the U.S.
Coast Guard for use in
national statistics.
azgfd.gov 3
Lake Havasu City Police Department officers
patrol the congested waters of Bridgewater Chan-nel
during the 2004 Memorial Day holiday.
Coconino County Sheriff’s deputies patrol the Navajo Canyon channel
in the summer of 2004.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Number of accidents
Operator reports
Arizona State Parks
Arizona Game and Fish Dept
Bullhead City Police Dept
Coconino County SO
Gila County SO
Imperial County SO
La Paz County SO
Lake Havasu City PD
Maricopa County Parks
Maricopa County SO
Mohave County SO
National Park Service
Nevada DOW
Tempe Police Dept
US Fish & Wildlife
Yavapai Prescott Tribal Police Dept
Agencies Reporting Accidents
254 total accidents
Colorado River System Compared
to All Other Arizona Waters
254 total accidents
Number of accidents
All other
waters
31%
Colorado
River
system
69%
Colorado River System
Accidents reported in Arizona
Colorado
River
46%
Lake
Powell
18%
Lake
Mohave
9%
Lake Mead 5%
4 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
In 2004, 16 different law enforcement agencies,
along with boat operators, reported 254 watercraft-related
accidents to the department. This number
does not include 25 boat accident reports that did
not meet minimum state or U.S. Coast Guard
reporting guidelines. Information taken from these
accident reports assists Arizona law enforcement
agencies in identifying safety needs, developing new
regulations, designing
new enforcement tech-niques,
identifying
manufacturer problems
and directing programs
at particular areas of
concern.
Law enforcement
agencies investigating
boating accidents and
operators involved in
accidents are required
by law to report such
accidents to the Ari-zona
Game and Fish
Department. If the
accident involves an
injury or fatality, a written report must be submit-ted
within 48 hours. All other accidents must be
reported within five days.
According to 2004 statistics, a significant num-ber
of boating accidents continue to occur along
the Colorado River basin, which includes Lake
Powell, Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, Lake Havasu
and stretches of the Colorado River. A number of
National Park Service officers investigate a boat accident on Lake Powell
in July of 2004. The investigation revealed that the operator was impaired.
these accidents
were related to the use
of drugs and alcohol.
In 2004, 11 people died
on Arizona waterways
and four of the deaths
(36 percent) were alco-hol-
related.
In an effort to re-duce
those numbers,
federal, state, county
and local law enforce-ment
agencies have
teamed up to conduct
operating under the
influence (oui) patrol
efforts. These special
projects include
on-the-water oui
checkpoints and
high-density law en-forcement
saturation (wolf pack) patrols involving
law enforcement agencies from Arizona, Nevada
and California. Statewide, watercraft law enforce-ment
officers were very successful in detecting
and arresting impaired boat operators. In 2004,
Arizona watercraft officers arrested 438 individu-als
for operating under the influence, 41 of those
arrests occurred during multi-agency oui special
projects. Last year, 10 multi-agency oui special
project patrols were conducted, during which 995
watercraft with 3009 persons onboard were checked
and 298 citations were issued. The boating public
azgfd.gov 5
2004 Fatalities
4 out of 11 fatalities were alcohol related
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Alcohol-related fatalities
Nonalcohol-related fatalities
Lake Mohave
Lake Mead
Lake Havasu
Granite Creek
Colorado River
Canyon Lake
Bartlett Lake
Total Number of Alcohol-related Accidents
254 total accidents
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Total number of alcohol-related Injuries
Total number of alcohol-related fatalities
Total accidents Involving alcohol
Total number of alcohol
related fatalities
Total number of alcohol
related Injuries
Total accidents
involving alcohol
The lone operator-occupant of this Lake Havasu boat was thrown over-board
during rough conditions in June 2004.
This total may not necessarily reflect the true
number of alcohol-related accidents due to a
variety of factors, including incomplete or
delayed accident reporting, along with delayed
victim reporting and/or recovery.
has continued to support oui patrol efforts.
Similar patrol activities are expected during the
2005 watercraft season.
Many boat operators appear to be heeding
the message of sober boating on the state’s wa-terways.
Watercraft law enforcement officers
statewide have reported a marked increase in
the percentage of designated sober operators
encountered during routine contacts. Drinking
while boating continues to be a critical problem
and high priority target enforcement objective
for officers, but the fact that many boat operators
have taken the safe and sober boating message
to heart is highly encouraging.
Property Damage Over $500
Types of watercraft
0 20 40 60 80 100
Number of vessels
Pontoon
Personal watercraft
Other
Open motorboat
Houseboat
Cabin motorboat
0 20 40 60 80 100
Number of accidents
Tempe Town Lake
Salt River
Saguaro Lake
Roosevelt Lake
Patagonia Lake
Lake Powell
Lake Pleasant
Lake Mohave
Lake Mead
Lake Havasu
Granite Creek
Colorado River
Canyon Lake
Bartlett Lake
Apache Lake
Alamo Lake
Water Bodies
254 total accidents
Water Bodies
118 total injuries and 11 fatalities
0 10 20 30 40 50
Number of fatalities
Number of injuries
Saguaro Lake
Roosevelt Lake
Lake Powell
Lake Pleasant
Lake Mohave
Lake Mead
Lake Havasu
Granite Creek
Colorado River
Canyon Lake
Bartlett Lake
Apache Lake Houseboats silhouetted at Apache Lake, Ariz.
6 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
*Passenger fatalities not included
Causes of Accidents
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Primary, secondary & tertiary causes
Weather (heavy)
Wake
Rules of the road infraction
Restricted vision
Passenger skier behavior
Other
Operator inexperience
Operator inattention
No proper lookout
Fault of machinery
Improper loading
Hull failure
Hazardous waters
Excessive speed
Equipment failure
Congested waters
Careless/reckless operation
Carbon monoxide
Alcohol/drug use
Age of Watercraft Operators
All accident and vessel types
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Accidents
Fatal
56 and over
51 to 55
46 to 50
41 to 45
36 to 40
31 to 35
26 to 30
21 to 25
17 to 20
11 to 16
Watercraft Accidents
There were 254 watercraft-related accidents re-ported
to the Arizona Game and Fish Department
in 2004, a decrease of 35 from 2003. The accidents
involved 397 boats, which is a decrease of 37 from
the prior year. However, officers saw a substantial
increase in the number of fatal accidents last year.
Eleven people died in 10 separate accidents, as com-pared
to seven deaths from six accidents in 2003. A
few of these fatal accidents were unusual or uncom-mon
in nature. One of the fatalities was attributed
The popularity of Blankenship Bend is reflected
in this aerial photo taken at midday in May 2004.
Boaters continue to flock in large numbers to this
unique sandbar located several miles upstream
from Lake Havasu along the Colorado River.
azgfd.gov 7
Primary Accident Types
254 total accidents
0 30 60 90 120 150
Primary accident type
Struck by motor/propeller
Struck by boat
Skier mishap
Sinking
Other
Hit and run
Grounding
Flooding/swamping
Fire/Explosion (other than fuel)
Fire/explosion (fuel)
Falls overboard
Fall in boat
Collision with vessel
Collision with floating object
Collision with fixed object
Capsizing
Primary Causes of Fatal Accidents
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Number of fatalities
Rules of the road infraction
Passenger skier behavior
Other
Operator inexperience
Operator inattention
Hull failure
Hazardous waters
Carbon monoxide
Alcohol/drug use
Primary Causes of Injury Accidents
0 5 10 15 20 25
Number of injuries
Weather (heavy)
Wake
Rules of the road infraction
Restricted vision
Passenger skier behavior
Other
Operator inexperience
Operator inattention
Hazardous waters
Excessive speed
Careless/reckless operation
Alcohol/drug use
Residence of Operators
All accidents
0 50 100 150 200
Number of vessels
Other
Utah
Nevada
Colorado
California
Arizona
Types of Watercraft in Accidents
397 total vessels
0 50 100 150 200
Number of vessels
Rowboat/utility
Pontoon
Personal watercraft
Other
Open motorboat
Houseboat
Canoe
Cabin Motorboat
Length of Watercraft
All incidents
0 20 40 60 80 100
Number of vessels
24 ‘ +
22’ to 23’
20’ to 21’
18’ to 19’
12’ to 17’
9’ to 11’
Types of Watercraft in Accidents
118 total injuries and 11 fatalities
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Injury
Fatal
Pontoon
Personal watercraft
Other
Open motorboat
Houseboat
Canoe/rowboat
Cabin motorboat
8 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
to carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from “teak
surfing.” Two fatalities occurred during a canoe acci-dent
in a flood-swollen wash. A fourth death resulted
from a heart attack triggered by capsizing and subse-quent
cold water immersion at Lee’s Ferry.
More encouraging was the decline in the total
number of injury boating accidents. In 2004, 118
boaters were injured, representing a reduction of
28 from 2003, when 140 were injured while boating
Weather Conditions
All accidents
0 50 100 150 200 250
Number of accidents
Snow
Rain
Hazy
Fog
Cloudy
Clear
Water Conditions
All accidents
0 30 60 90 120 150
Number of accidents
Very rough (waves > 6’)
Strong current
Rough (waves 2’ – 6’)
Choppy (wave 6” – 2’)
Calm (waves less then 6”)
Visibility Conditions
All accidents
0 50 100 150 200 250
Number of accidents
Poor
Fair
Good
Accidents by Month
254 total accidents
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Number of accidents
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
Accidents by Day of Week
254 total accidents
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Number of accidents
Sunday
Saturday
Friday
Thursday
Wednesday
Tuesday
Monday
Accidents by Day of Week
118 total injuries and 11 fatalities
0 10 20 30 40 50
Injury
Fatal
Sunday
Saturday
Friday
Thursday
Wednesday
Tuesday
Monday
Accidents by Time of Day
254 total accidents
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Number of accidents
8:01 PM to 12:00 AM
4:01 PM to 8:00 PM
12:01 PM to 4:00 PM
8:01 AM to 12:00 PM
4:01 AM to 8:00 AM
12:01 AM to 4:00 AM
azgfd.gov 9
on Arizona waterways. However, $954,343
worth of property and vessel damage was re-ported
to the department last year: This is
one of the highest numbers on record.
Boating continues to be an increasingly
popular form of recreation in Arizona. The
number of registered watercraft in Arizona
has grown from 105,000 in 1986 to 147,294 in
2004. According to the 2003 Watercraft Gas
Tax Survey, 3,229,153 total boat use days were
reported for Arizona. Arizona boaters made
up 44 percent of those days, while California
boaters made up 49 percent. Nevada boaters
made up most of the remaining 7 percent.
The main focus of the Arizona Game and Fish
Department’s watercraft safety program is the
safety of all recreational boaters in Arizona.
In analyzing watercraft accident informa-tion,
there are five main areas of interest:
type and cause of the accident, operator in-formation,
boats and equipment involved,
environmental conditions at the time of the acci-dent,
and time and location of the accident. The
two leading causes of accidents for the 11th year in
a row in Arizona are operator inexperience and
operator inattention. Forty percent of operators
involved in Arizona boating accidents were residents
of the state and 49 percent were from California.
The types of watercraft most often involved in
accidents were personal watercraft smaller than 12
Age of Personal Watercraft Operators
All accidents
0 5 10 15 20 25
Number of operators
Age 51 and older
Age 46 to 50
Age 41 to 45
Age 36 to 40
Age 31 to 35
Age 26 to 30
Age 21 to 25
Age 17 to 20
Age 11 to 16
Operator’s Boating Education
All accidents
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Number of operators
Other
Informal
American Red Cross
US Power Squadrons
USCG Auxiliary
State course
None
feet in length and open motorboats 24 feet or
more in length.
Environmental conditions were not a factor in
the vast majority of 2004 accidents. The average
accident occurred during the day when weather
conditions were usually clear, with calm or choppy
waters, and good visibility.
The most dangerous month for recreational
boating in 2004 was July, with August second, and
The operator who provided this breath sample was
arrested for extreme OUI. In Arizona, boat operators
cannot be impaired to the slightest degree, and the
legal alcohol concentration limit for persons in con-trol
of a motorized watercraft is .08.
10 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
May third. The months of May, July, and Sep-tember
traditionally have high numbers of boating
accidents because these months reflect peak boater
day use along with the summer’s busiest boating
holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day and
Labor Day. In 2004, 43 percent of all accidents oc-curred
between noon and 4 p.m. and Saturday was
the day of the week that had the most accidents
and injuries.
Watercraft Regulations
The Arizona Legislature has changed state law in
regard to the penalties for oui. Boat operators
convicted of oui face increased sanctions and fines
ranging from $955 for a first time offense to $2155
for second-time extreme oui convictions.
Watercraft Education
Education is considered one of the most effective
ways to reduce the number of boating accidents.
According to 2004 statistics, more than half of the
operators involved in recreational boating accidents
had not received formal education in boating safety.
This was a slight decrease from the 2003 data. The
Arizona Game and Fish Department provides an
eight-hour boating education course developed for
recreational boaters. Many insurance companies
offer discounts to those who successfully complete
the course as a way to encourage boater education.
Currently the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s
Information and Education Division coordinates
Tri-state Colorado River Fatalities
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Number of fatalities
Nevada
California
Arizona
the courses, and 87 volunteer boating education
instructors from across the state provide class-room
instruction. In 2004, the department offered
143 boating education classes in Arizona and 1,959
recreational boaters completed them. This was a
288 percent student increase from 2003, which had
680 students attending 57 classes.
The Arizona sections of both the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Power Squadron
also conduct boating education training. U.S.
Coast Guard boating safety classes vary from an
eight-hour basic safety course to 80 hours of
instruction. The U.S. Power Squadron offers a six-chapter
boating course as well as a shorter, more
intense, three-chapter course.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department con-tinues
to work with judges around the state to
include its boating safety education program as
part of sentencing for violators of boating rules
and regulations. Judges are encouraged to use the
program in lieu of, or in addition to, a fine, to
help increase the boat operator’s knowledge of
boating safety information and regulations. So far,
judges and boating violators have indicated the
program has been successful in increasing aware-ness
of boating safety issues.
azgfd.gov 11
The Lost Eden Waterfall dwarfs a 26-foot Na-tional
Park Service patrol boat in July 2004. This
side channel on Lake Powell only flows after
heavy rains.
12 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report
Boating Accident Statistics
An area of priority interest to both recreational
boaters and law enforcement agencies is the in-creasing
number of personal watercraft (pwc)
using Arizona waterways. In 1990, there were only
8,168 pwc registered in Arizona, compared to 28,307
in 2004. Currently, pwcs comprise more than 19 per-cent
of all Arizona watercraft registrations. However,
pwc operators receive a disproportionate amount of
injuries compared to other watercraft types. For
example, more than 28 percent of all accidents in-volving
pwcs result in bodily injuries, and these
injuries account for 40 percent of all boating inju-ries.
Furthermore, two of the 11 fatalities in 2004
(roughly 18 percent) involved pwcs. These statistics
are higher than any other type of watercraft. Many
of these accidents can be attributed to the fact that
numerous first time operators are renting or have
just recently purchased a pwc. A pwc is operated
differently than a traditional boat and averages more
time on the water than traditional watercraft.
The increased use of the Colorado River system
from Lake Powell to Yuma is another area of con-cern
to the Arizona Game and Fish Department
and other law enforcement agencies. Sixty-nine
percent of all Arizona watercraft accidents oc-curred
along the Colorado River. An increase in
law enforcement activity, particularly oui enforce-ment,
and a focus on boating education have been
shown to help reduce the number of boating acci-dents
along the river.
This information was compiled from boating
accident reports submitted to the Arizona Game
and Fish Department by watercraft enforcement
agencies and persons involved in watercraft acci-dents
throughout Arizona. For more information
on boating safety education, call (602) 789-3235.
A father and his children take a ride on a personal watercraft at Saguaro Lake in 2003.
Arizona Game and Fish Department officers remove
an alleged impaired boater from his watercraft and
conduct an OUI investigation on Roosevelt Lake in
July 2004.
National Association of State Boating Law Administrators
Arizona’s 2005 Boating Law
Enforcement
Officer of the
Year
The National Association of State
Boating Law Administrators devel-oped
the Boating Law Enforcement
Officer of the Year award in 2000 to
recognize and honor outstanding
service to recreational boating. This
award symbolizes the highest level
of achievement among boating law
enforcement officers in the United
States. Each state selects its own
officer of the year. The state recipi-ents
are eligible for one of three
regional awards and the regional
recipients compete for the Butch
Potts National Boating Law Enforcement Officer
of the Year Award.
Officer Tim Baumgarten is a 23-year veteran
with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and
is currently assigned to the Kingman region as the
Law Enforcement Program Manager. Tim is recog-nized
throughout Arizona and the western states as
one of the top experts and leading authorities in
watercraft law enforcement, boat theft investiga-tions,
operating under the influence enforcement,
and watercraft accident investigations.
Tim has personally accounted for more than
100 oui arrests so far in his career,
and has assisted fellow officers
with hundreds more. Tim was in-volved
in the first oui checkpoint
in Arizona in 1993, and since then
has participated and/or supervised
in approximately 70 on-the-water
sobriety checkpoints, more than
any Arizona watercraft officer.
Last year alone, Tim supervised
eight Colorado River oui check-points
that resulted in 342
citations and 31 oui arrests.
Tim is a lead instructor at Ari-zona
Game and Fish Department’s
annual Watercraft Enforcement
Tactics Survival School and has been instructing
nationally since 2004 as a National Association of
State Boating Law Administrators boating under
the influence instructor. He taught oui enforcement
at the 2003 International Boating and Water Safety
Summit in Las Vegas, Nev. and gave a presenta-tion
at the Annual Alcohol Summit put on by the
Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in Arizona. In
1997, Tim received an award of merit from the
National Water Safety Congress. Additionally, Ari-zona
Game Ranger Fraternal Order of Police
recognized him as the 2002 outstanding game and
fish officer of the year.
azgfd.gov 13
Arizona Game and Fish
Department officer Tim
Baumgarten
Previous Arizona Boating Law Enforcement Officer of the Year recipients
2004 Jerry Burns, La Paz County Sheriff ’s Office
2003 Deanna Pfleger, Arizona Game and Fish Department
2002 No nominations received
2001 Gerald Duvall, Bullhead City Police Department
2000 Steve Andrews, Arizona Game and Fish Department
For information on boating education classes visit azgfd.gov or
call the Arizona Game and Fish Department at (602) 789-3235.