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06/06/02
Boating Safety in Minnesota
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Source: Minnesota
Authors: McAvoy, Leo H.; Lime, David W.; Schatz, Curtis;
and Pitt, David G.
ID: CD-FO-3895
Format: Full Text
Year: 1990
Research Summaries
Tourism Center
Minnesota Extension Service
University of Minnesota
No. 8
Boating Safety in Minnesota
Introduction
Minnesota is first in the country in per-capita boat
ownership. Nearly 700,000 boats were registered in
1989--about one boat for every 6.3 people living in the
state. With so many boaters, questions of boating safety
arise. How safe is boating in Minnesota? What safety
problems do boaters encounter and what should be done
about them?
To obtain answers to these and other questions related to
the quality of boating in Minnesota, a statewide survey of
registered Minnesota boat owners was conducted in 1988 by
the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources (DNR), funded by the DNR. The
research summarized in this report is based on a survey of
2,490 boat owners, projected to the entire population of
Minnesota registered boat owners. A description of the
study design and methods appears at the end of this
report.
Is Boating Safe in Minnesota?
In general, the survey indicates that, among Minnesota's
286,000 pleasure boat owners, boating is relatively safe.
Over 95% of the respondents have not been involved in any
boating accident in the past five years. Fewer than 2%
have been in an accident resulting in significant property
damage (over $200), and less than 1% were involved in a
boating accident resulting in injury requiring more than
basic first aid.
Although few accidents were reported in this survey, boat
owners in the metro region reported an accident rate twice
as high as that of owners in the north and south regions.
One reason for the low overall accident rate among all
Minnesota boat owners may be the high level of boating
experience among those responding to the questionnaire.
The average Minnesota boat owner in this study has 22
years of boating experience.
____________________________________________
Figure 1. Percentage of boat owners who have or have not
taken a boating safety course.
Have taken a course: 22%
Have never taken a course: 78%
_____________________________________________
As indicated in Figures 1 and 2, slightly more than 1/5 of
the boat owners have ever completed a boating safety
course offered by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary (9%),
Minnesota DNR (4%), U.S. Power Squadrons (5%), or other
training agency (7%). Metro region boat owners were more
likely (28%) to have taken a boat safety course than were
those from either the north (17%) or the south (19%)
regions.
Need for Increased Safety
Even though boating in Minnesota is generally safe, boat
owners believe that there is a need for increased safety
on the state's lakes and rivers. Inappropriate boating
behavior of others, the increasing amount of boat traffic,
and the level of enforcement of boating rules and
regulations are problems that boat owners see as a threat
to safe boating.
More than 80% of the boat owners indicated that poor
behavior by other boaters is a problem, 68% viewed the
large and growing numbers of boaters on lakes and streams
as a problem, and 57% agreed that there is a problem with
enforcement of boating rules and regulations. Boat owners
in the metro region perceived these safety problems as
being more prevalent than did respondents in the other
regions. Figure 3 indicates that metro region boaters
were only slightly more likely to view boating behavior as
a more serious problem. But they were much more likely
than boat owners in either the north or south regions to
view boating numbers and enforcement of regulations as
problems. This indicates there may be more safety-related
problems in the metro region lakes and rivers. Boat owners
who had completed a boating safety course are also more
likely to view the boating behavior of others as a
problem, and they are more likely to view these problems
as severe.
Some of the boat owners' responses regarding boating
behavior of others and the number of boaters on rivers may
be related to aesthetic as well as safety reasons. But
there seems to be a strong indication that boat owners
view these as problems that need to be addressed
to improve safety and boating quality.
__________________________________________________
Figure 2. Percentage of respondents who have taken a
safety course
*MNDNR USCGA USPower Other
North 2% 7% 5% 4%
Metro 5% 11% 6% 8%
South 3% 8% 1% 9%
Boating Safety Course*
*MNDNR = Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
USCGA = U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
USPower = U.S. Power Squadrons
Other = Red Cross, U.S. military, Scouts, private club,
etc.
________________________________________________
Figure 3. Boat owners' perceptions of safety problems
Percent of Boat Owners Indicating Problems
Enforcement of boating regulations:
North - 51%
Metro - 70%
South - 54%
State - 57%
Number of boaters:
North - 57%
Metro - 81%
South - 72%
State - 68%
Boating behavior of others:
North - 76%
Metro - 84%
South - 84%
State - 82%
_______________________________________________
Management Actions to Improve Safety
Minnesota boat owners support improving boating safety
through stricter regulation of certain boating activities
and improved boating facilities. Figure 4 indicates that
the safety measures preferred by at least 50% of the state
boat owners are: restrict the speed of boats on heavily
used lakes and rivers (80% support, 10% oppose, 10% no
opinion); restrict certain types of boating to specific
parts of heavily used lakes and rivers (64% support, 18%
oppose); enforce safety regulations more aggressively (58%
support, 15% oppose); increase penalties for violating
boating rules and regulations (58% support, 17% oppose);
and provide protected harbors on large lakes such as
Superior and Mille Lacs (52% support, 10% oppose).
Several additional safety management steps received
support from 40% to 50% of the boat owners, and little
opposition. For example, 48% favored requiring boaters
under 12 years of age to wear a personal flotation device
(36% opposed); 42% favored development of stricter safety
regulations (25% opposed); and 47% favored restricting
certain types of boating to specific times of the day on
heavily used lakes and rivers (31%) opposed this measure).
Metro region boat owners generally were the most
supportive of increased regulation and enforcement on
Minnesota lakes and rivers. The seven most-supported
management safety steps in Figure 4 all received stronger
support from metro region boat owners than from those in
the other regions (with the exception of "protected
harbors"). Eighty-four percent of the metro respondents
supported restricting speed of boats, compared with 76% in
the north and 76% in the south. Metro respondents were
also more supportive of increased penalties for boating
law infractions (64% metro, 52% north, 55% south) and more
aggressive enforcement of boating regulations (65% metro,
50% north, 54% south). Metro respondents also supported
restricting boating use to certain times of the day and
developing stricter boating regulations more than did
respondents from the other regions (49% metro, 39% north,
45% south). Metro region boat owners apparently see a more
serious set of problems on lakes and rivers there than do
outstate owners, and they are more willing to impose
stricter regulations on boating behavior to help solve
those problems.
________________________________________________
Figure 4. Boat owners' opinions about management actions
to improve boating safety
Percent Supporting Management Action
Require operator's license for boat operators 26%
Require safety course for power boat operators 28%
Restrict number of people using heavily used
lakes/rivers - 30%
Require license for power boat operators - 39%
Require personal flotation device for all boaters 37%
Require operator's license for boaters under 18 - 38%
Require safety course for all boat operators - 38%
Develop stricter safety regulations - 42%
Restrict types of use to certain times of day on
heavily used lakes/rivers - 47%
Require personal flotation device for boaters under 12
- 48%
Enforce safety regulations aggressively - 58%
Provide protected harbors on large lakes - 52%
Increase penalties for safety violations - 58%
Restrict types of use to certain parts of heavily used
lakes/rivers - 64%
Restrict boat speed on heavily used lakes/rivers - 80%
_________________________________________________
Another segment of the boat owners supportive of stricter
regulation were those who had completed a boating safety
course. These boat owners seem to expect a higher level of
safe behavior by others and they are willing to accept a
higher level of management to ensure that safety. Those
who have completed a boating safety course (regardless of
who offered it) are more likely to support management
actions such as requirement of boating safety courses,
more law enforcement, increased penalties for boating
interactions, and the provision of protected harbors.
Minnesota boat owners support the development of protected
harbors on large lakes and the placement of buoys
indicating water depths and hazards as means of enhancing
boating safety. Figure 4 shows that protected harbors were
supported by 52% of the boat owners (and opposed by only
10%). These protected harbors on larger lakes would
include a breakwater, launching facility, and tie-up
spots. Protected harbors received a higher degree of
support in the north region (56%) than in the metro (52%)
or south (43%) Regions. This is not surprising, since
large lakes (Superior, Red, Lake of the Woods, MilIe Lacs,
etc.) are located in the northern part of the state. Over
60% of the state's boat owners also believe that providing
buoys to mark navigational hazards and water depths would
enhance their most frequently occurring boating outing.
Boat owners also responded to boating safety-related
issues regarding Lake Superior and the Mississippi River.
A number of owners stated that they didn't boat on these
waters (or didn't boat more often) because they didn't
know enough about boating on Lake Superior (58%) or on the
Mississippi River (39%). Almost half (43%) of the state's
boat owners believe they lack the skills necessary for
boating on Lake Superior and 27% of the respondents are
concerned about the locks and commercial barge traffic on
the Mississippi. Additional safety-related data regarding
boating on Lake Superior and the Mississippi River can be
found in the research reports on these two resources
(Tourism Research Summaries No. 5 and No. 6).
Summary
While Minnesota boat owners suffer relatively few serious
boating accidents, many owners do think safety-related
problems exist on Minnesota lakes and rivers and they
support direct regulation of boating through enforcement
of existing safety rules and regulations.
Management actions that appear to be the most supported by
Minnesota boat owners are the restriction of the speed of
boats and the restriction of certain types of boating to
specific parts of heavily used lakes and rivers.
Boat owners in the metro region are even more supportive
of stricter management actions than those in other
regions. They favor more aggressive enforcement of
regulations and increased penalties for violating boating
regulations. Safety-related problems seem to be more acute
on metro region lakes and rivers, and boat owners in the
metro region are in favor of management steps to solve the
problems.
A majority of boat owners support placing buoys
(statewide) to mark hazard areas and providing protected
harbors on large water bodies in the north region.
Based on the response to this survey, it appears that
management efforts to improve boating safety in the state
should focus on programs that will encourage safer boating
practices, enforce existing regulations, and improve
boating facilities.
1988 Survey of Minnesota Boat Owners-Study Design and
Method
Access to Minnesota's lakes and streams is provided
through many private and commercial facilities as well as
through innumerable public canoe launches, beaches, and
open stretches of shoreline. More than 2,200 free public
water access sites are managed by federal, state, county,
and local governments. Minnesota's Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) manages nearly 1,200 of these sites.
Although a primary DNR activity is acquiring access to
water bodies statewide, recent discussions have focused on
managing these resources to better serve the boating
public. What should the future direction be for managing
the state's water resources to offer safe and rewarding
boating opportunities?
In 1987, the authors, the University of Minnesota, and
five units of the DNR (Boat and Water Safety, Fisheries,
Planning, Trails and Waterways, and Waters) entered into a
partnership to conduct a statewide survey of registered
boat owners to determine how boaters use their pleasure
boats on Minnesota waters and what they think about (1)
safety problems and issues related to their current
boating, (2) barriers to safe boating and high quality
boating experiences, and (3) removal of barriers by
improving or providing information, management,
facilities, and services at or near free public water
accesses. The study investigated these concerns for the
state's waters as a whole and with specific reference to
two of our largest water resources-the North Shore of Lake
Superior and the Mississippi River downstream from the
Twin Cities.
In March and April, 1988, a mail-back questionnaire was
sent to a representative sample of 3,200 registered boat
owners drawn from the pool of 286,000 pleasure boat owners
in the state licensed through the DNR. The survey sample
was selected to enable comparisons to be made among the
three regions of the state displayed in Figure 5, and
among six major types of licensed pleasure boats: canoes
and kayaks, other boats under 14 feet in length, sailboats
14 to 20 feet, sailboats more than 20 feet, other boats 14
to 20 feet, and other boats more than 20 feet in length.
Other comparisons, such as those between boat owners who
own or do not own riparian property, are also possible.
Figure 5. (Vis. 5)Study Regions
The questionnaire was comprised of 45 questions and took
about 15 minutes to complete. The initial mailing and two
follow-up reminders resulted in 2,490 owners returning the
survey. About 100 surveys were eliminated from the
original sample of 3,200, resulting in an overall adjusted
response rate of 80 percent. This excellent response
reflects Minnesota boat owners' strong interest in
expressing their views, as well as the importance they
place on the state's free public water accesses to achieve
quality boating experiences.
Survey respondents may not be representative of the
typical boat owner. The survey questionnaire requested the
individual in the household "who goes boating most
frequently" to respond to the survey. Therefore, the
typical survey respondent may be somewhat older and a more
experienced boater than the state's typical boat owner or
boater.
Details about the study design and methods, the raw data,
and the data summary tables are available from the authors
and from the DNR's Office of Planning, 500 Lafayette Rd.,
St. Paul, MN 551554010 (612-296-0565).
This study was funded by the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources.
Authors:
Leo H. McAvoy, Associate Professor, Division of
Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies
David W. Lime, Adjunct Professor and Research Associate,
Dept. Forest Resources and Tourism Center
Curtis Schatz, Research Assistant, Division of Recreation,
Park, and Leisure Studies
David G. Pitt, Professor, Department of Landscape
Architecture
Technical Assistance: Minnesota Center for Survey
Research, University of Minnesota (administration and
processing of survey questionnaires
Editor: Louise Jones
Tourism Center, 48 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Ave.,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108; John Sem,
Director
Copyright 1990 by Minnesota Extension Service, University
of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in
agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Patrick J. Borich, Dean and Director of
Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota, St.
Paul, Minnesota 55108.
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