May 16, 2018 — Toronto, ON, — North American Safe Boating Awareness Week will take place across Canada from May 19th to May 25th, 2018. The purpose of this initiative, managed by the CSBC (Canadian Safe Boating Council) and its partners, is to promote safe and responsible boating practices to the estimated 15 million recreational boaters in Canada.
Although boating related fatalities have trended downwards in past years, there continues to be an average of over 100 boating related deaths annually in Canadian waters. With people gearing-up to launch their boats after a long winter slumber, the goal of the week is to continue to bring those numbers down by ensuring that Canadians who head out in any type of boat have the appropriate knowledge to help them have a safe day on the water.
The timing of the week, starting on the May long weekend, is perfectly aligned with the unofficial start of summer and a time when many boating fatalities occur.
There are five key boating safety behaviours to be delivered, all directed towards the most common boating related accidents. They include:
1. Wear a Lifejacket
2. Boat Sober
3. Take a Boating Course
4. Be Prepared – Both You and Your Vessel
5. Be Aware of the Risks of Cold Water Immersion
To help media in communicating safe boating messages, short stories to be used as discrete articles and 30-second audio and video PSAs are available. They are easy to download and free of charge on the<http://www.csbc.ca/> website. Beta quality is also available upon request.
In addition to offering media ready materials, a number of activities are taking place during this year’s campaign.
Launches
In Canada, there will be five launches for media, public and boating safety educators alike. On May 17th, Toronto, Dartmouth and Winnipeg will kick of North American Safe Boating Awareness Week. Vancouver will launch Safe Boating Awareness Week on May 19th and Saskatoon on May 22nd.
2018 Focus
The impending legalization of cannabis along with the rise in prescription narcotic use is causing significant additional concern for boating safety advocate groups, enforcement agencies and first responders alike. Alcohol alone has long been proven to be a contributing factor in 40% of boating fatalities across Canada but the legalization of recreational cannabis has the potential to significantly increase this statistic. In response to this, at each of our launches, there will be media conferences put on by local and regional police to discuss emphasize the importance of not consuming ANY alcohol or drugs either before or while boating.
The Safe Boating Awareness Week initiative is promoted by the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC), a registered charity, with support from its members, partners and Transport Canada Office of Boating.
For additional information on both the event and boating safety information, please visit<http://www.csbc.ca/> .
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