The National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) is a catalyst for recreational boating safety and promoting a safe boating experience through educational programs, resources, tools, creative messages, and instructor training. NSBC’s Safe Boating Campaign is an annual boating safety campaign that promotes responsible boating and the value of voluntary life jacket wear by recreational boaters.
The NSBC sought to gain insights that might help improve the Safe Boating Campaign and provide a better understanding of the attitudes and behaviors regarding life jacket wear. Specifically, the research objectives were to:
- Collect self-reported life jacket wear
- Determine reasons for wearing or not wearing a life jacket
- Understand boaters’ attitudes toward safety
- Gain reactions to ideas that might convince boaters to increase wearing of life jackets
A quantitative online survey was conducted in 2022. The annual awareness survey found that the Safe Boating Campaign asked boaters questions relative to life jacket wear and other boating safety behaviors. 51% of respondents indicated that they require their passengers to wear life jackets at ALL times. The number one reason why they did not require their passenger(s) to wear a life jacket at all times is because the passengers are adults, and it is not required by federal law. Respondents shared they, and their passengers, would be persuaded to wear a life jacket if it was required by law. 99% of respondents indicated they own a life jacket, with the majority of these inherently buoyant life jackets. The survey also found that 50% of respondents had never worn an inherently buoyant life jacket.