State of South Carolina Opens Lakes and Waterways for Boating

SOUTH CAROLINA- Postandcourier.com writes that boat ramps are open in South Carolina with National Safe Boating Week currently underway. People are out on the water in vessels large and small and enjoying the spring weather.*

In South Carolina, there are over 500,000 registered boats that could be in use at any given time. While the state has 8,000 miles or rivers, 200 miles of coastline, and 460,000 acres of lakes, the number of recreational boaters can lead to crowding. 

With heavy boat traffic, there is always a possibility of crashes taking place. 

Any safety advice for boaters starts with the need to use a life jacket. According to a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, in about 80 percent of fatal incidents, the victims could have been saved if they had been wearing some form of personal floatation device. While a life jacket might not save people in every situation, it will be able to prevent fatal accidents most of the time. The official said that when a person falls from a boat, it can be a tragedy, but if they have a life jacket, the event often ends up a funny story. 

Every year the Palmetto State sees about thirteen to fourteen deaths from boat accidents. 

While there is no license requirement for boat operators and no test that anyone over the age of sixteen must take in South Carolina in order to operate a boat, those under sixteen must take a class. Even though it is not a requirement, it is wise for anyone who wishes to operate a boat to seek out some educational materials or a class. The SCDNR’s website has an online class for boaters. 

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Source: https://www.postandcourier.com/tideline_magazine/outdoors/as-sc-waters-open-to-boaters-heres-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-statistic/article_105398f0-96bd-11ea-94ad-0754542ece7e.html