"The problem is similar to the history behind the wearing of seat belts in automobiles. It took a concerted effort on the part of the automobile and insurance industries, federal and state enforcement agencies and national safety organizations to significantly increase the wear rate of seat belts," and he expects a similar effort is needed for life jackets.

Mayer at Lake Powell would like to see parents ensure that toddlers and babies wear them whenever they are near water, not just on boats.

"It seems like every year we have a toddler who drowns at the shore, not on a boat," he said. "A big group comes in for lunch from a houseboat. Everyone takes off their life jackets. In a split second, someone asks where the baby is. It's gone to the shore and fallen in. If (the child) had a life jacket on, it would be no problem at all."

He adds, "If you have little toddlers, put life jackets on them and don't ever take it off until you leave. Leave it on them 100 percent of the time at the lake. I can't overemphasize that."

Droesbeke said the state will emphasize life jackets for adults this year by having state park rangers approach adults they see wearing life jackets to reward them with a T-shirt that says, "I got caught ... wearing a life jacket." Rangers will also enter their names into a year-end drawing for prizes and merchandise.

The state also offers "life jacket trees" at some major state parks for visitors to borrow a life jacket if they forgot one, or to borrow one of different size if needed.

Extra caution

Mayer, the chief ranger at Lake Powell, would like to see boaters act more like general aviation pilots and says that would save many lives.

"In general aviation, it is all about safety. There are pilot briefings and preflight checks. Good boaters should do the same thing. They should go through checklists. They should brief everyone on board about where to find life vests, or where to find the fire extinguisher. It would reduce problems by a great amount," he said.

Harris said that too often boaters fail to do the basics. For example, "They should never go out without checking a weather report. They should always keep an eye on the sky," he said.

That is especially important in Utah's mountain lakes, Droesbeke said. "If you are someplace like Strawberry, the clouds can come up over the mountain fast. And if you are hit with a thunderstorm there, you know it is likely to be severe for a while."