Wear life jackets, parks workers plead

With boat-related fatalities triple what they were last year, officials from the Utah State Parks are doing what they can to sound the warning and raise awareness.

The total number of 2008 boat-related fatalities was four, said Utah State Parks' assistant boating program manager Chris Haller. Thus far this year, there have been 12 total deaths, eight of which officials believe could have been prevented if life jackets had been used.

"In Utah, we see a high rate of people floating on the rivers, trying to cool off from the high temperatures, and they're not even carrying life jackets with them," Haller said. "We're trying to prevent future fatalities and/or injuries. We want people to be safe when they're out boating this year."

In the spirit of education, Utah State Parks held an education day where they distributed brochures and talked with those floating the Weber River, with the goal of "educating boaters about wearing life jackets whenever they are in the rivers."

Haller said they consider boaters to be anyone floating the river on anything fitting the Utah definition of a vessel that is manually propelled, including rafts, inner tubes, tires or air mattresses. Anyone on one of these vessels is at risk when they are in the water, and Haller said the relatively shallow waters in some of these rivers give some a false sense of security.

"People … have the sense that they are invincible, because it's a nice, calm environment," he said. "Yes, there are some rapids, but for the most part, it's shallow, mellow, etc. The thing is, if it's shallow it means there are rocks they can get tied up on or bump their head on."

Ultimately, Haller said they want people on the water, they just want them to be safe on the water and use the life jackets that could save their lives.

"We want you to go out, we want you to boat, but be smart," he said. "Similar to seat belts, if people would wear life jackets, about 80 percent of boating-related deaths would be prevented."

The 12 Utah drowning deaths so far this year are:

Marcos Menjivar, 22, of Herriman, died Aug. 10 while swimming in Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman.

John Doucette, 19, of Logan, died Aug. 5 while swimming in Tony Grove Lake near Logan.

Mason Kinder, 4, of Cedar City, drowned Aug. 3 while building sand castles at Lake Powell.

Rordan Bumgardner, 17, of Salina, drowned Aug. 6 while swimming at Palisade Reservoir in Sanpete County.