Louisiana sees fewer boating accidents
By Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
Email the author | Follow on Twitter on January 08, 2016 at 4:39 AM
On Dec. 6, two anglers were wearing their life jackets while running a tiller-controlled boat on Cecil Creek in Union Parish. The boat struck a submerged object, which punctured the hull and ejected one of the occupants. Neither boater was seriously injured.
Two days later, in Natchitoches Parish, another boater was ejected when he struck a tree. He was unresponsive when picked up by boaters on another vessel, but was wearing a life jacket, and was transported for medical attention.
Two days later, in Natchitoches Parish, another boater was ejected when he struck a tree. He was unresponsive when picked up by boaters on another vessel, but was wearing a life jacket, and was transported for medical attention.
Ten days after that, a tiller-controlled boat was pinned by strong currents against the Grand Bayou Weir in Cameron Parish, causing it to fill with water and capsize. Its occupant was saved by a personal flotation device.
Despite these accidents last month, injuries on the water are actually trending downward, according to information provided to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission at its monthly meeting Thursday (Jan. 7).
Lt. Col. Sammy Martin of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' enforcement division told the regulatory board the three accidents and one injury in December brought the 2015 totals to 113 crashes, 62 injuries and 19 fatalities.
"That's below average, but we still hope to get those numbers down in 2016," Martin said.
The number of Louisiana boating accidents was down from 139 in 2014, and the number of injuries fell from 102.
Fatalities, however, rose from 14 the previous year.
In all, department agents wrote 11,074 citations in 2015. They also issued 5,833 warnings, and rendered public assistance 383 times.
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