About 33 percent of boating citations involve improper boat handling. One of the most common violations is Utah involves the proximity law, which is that it is unlawful to pass within 150 feet of a person or boat at anything faster than wakeless speed.

The wearing of a life jacket is probably the wisest thing boaters can do. Seventy-five percent of those who drown in water accidents (491 out of 697 in 2005) would have survived had they worn a personal flotation device. Utah law requires that boats have a properly sized U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFD for each person aboard.

All individuals being towed in the water, operating a personal watercraft, 12 years of age or younger and while white-water rafting are required by law to wear a PFD.

Boating officials are constantly warning people about carbon monoxide. When swimmers are in the water, always turn the engine off, not only to avoid injuries from the prop, but also to keep people from falling victim to carbon monoxide.

The common-sense rule is: Whenever the boat is stopped, turn off the engine.

"People should also stay off the back of the boat when it's idling. We see people standing on the back of the boat when it's running, and all we can do is warn them. But that's a very high-risk area," added Harris.

Nationally, most of the reported accidents with watercraft involve a collision with another vessel. As noted, major factors in these accidents involve carelessness/reckless operation, operator inattention, excessive speed and operator inexperience.

Boaters are also urged to stay sober and never boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Those operating a personal water craft are urged to ride cautiously. Some PWC hazards include high speeds and limited braking capabilities, as well as the fact that operators and passengers are relatively unprotected in the event of a spill or collision.

Utah law requires training before youths 12 to 17 years of age may operate a PWC without an adult on board.

It's important that boaters know the rules of the water and boating courtesies. It's also wise for people to take a boating education class.

According to U.S. Coast Guard figures, in about seven of every 10 accidents on the water, the operator had received no boating safety instruction.

Currently, there are about 75,000 boats registered in Utah. Numbers have been going up the past three years, but this figure is below the 79,000 registrations recorded prior to 9/11, high gas prices and the extended Utah drought. Utah ranks 38th in the nation in boating registrations.

Nationally, there are about 13 million boats registered, roughly one million more than were registered a decade ago. In 1980, there were only 8.5 million boats registered in the United States.

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E-mail: grass@desnews.com