Game and Fish Dept. urges safety when boating
With many Arizona families flocking to lakes and rivers to beat the summer heat, the Arizona Game and Fish Department is encouraging boaters and water enthusiasts to be conscious of their surroundings.
Josh Hoffman, the AZGFD Boat Safety Education coordinator, wants boaters to take extra precautions around other boats towing skiers or tubers and for the possibility of hazardous water conditions.
“You have to share the lake or river with a lot of people, so it’s important for people to be aware of possible hazards and to realize that their actions could put somebody else in harm’s way,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman urges boaters to educate passengers on the location and danger of the propellers, never reverse a boat to pick someone out of the water and to make sure no one is near the propeller before starting the boat’s engine.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offer- ing these safety tips after a 25-year-old was hospitalized with serious wounds after being struck by a boat propeller at a lake north of Phoenix, according to authorities.
“A lot of folks aren’t aware that the propeller is still spinning even when the boat is idling and not going in any specific direction,” Hoffman said. “Whenever there’s people around the boat, the motor needs to be turned off because propeller injuries are particularly gruesome.”
The Arizona Game and Fish Department also advis- es that all passengers follow state law, which requires passengers 12 years old and younger to wear a life jacket while on board and that the vessel contains a life jacket for each passenger. Anyone being towed by a boat or on a personal watercraft such as a jet ski must also wear a life jacket.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department recommends that all boat operators and passengers complete a boating safety course in order to gain practical knowledge that will increase their family’s safety on the water.