Common Types of Watercraft Accidents | Common Causes of Boating Accidents | Staying Safe on Texas Waterways
In the summer in Texas, there’s usually one of two places you want to be—on or in the water. Unfortunately, you’re not alone. It’s typical to find lots of boats and other watercraft on most of the lakes and rivers across Texas. With the sheer number of boats, jet skis, tubes, and people on the Texas waterways, it should come as no surprise that the Lone Star State ranks third nationally in the number of recreational boating accidents, behind only Florida and California.
What Are the Common Types of Boating Accidents or Injuries in Texas?
Water-related accidents routinely take a number of different forms, including:
- Collisions between two boats
- Collisions with other objects in the water, including docks, diving platforms, and buoys
- Impact with natural objects in the water, including reefs, sandbars, rocks, and breakwalls
- Capsizes
- Passenger injury due to falls, falling overboard, or being hit by another boat while swimming
What Factors Most Often Contribute to Boating Accidents?
More than anything, inexperience handling a boat is the primary cause of accidents. It’s fairly common for persons traveling in a boat to lack any experience operating one. It’s also far too common for someone without any experience to take the helm. That can be a recipe for disaster when there are many other vehicles in the vicinity, or if the weather conditions become difficult to handle.
Unfortunately, alcohol use has long been a part of boating culture. The combination of a few drinks, the heat of the sun, and a long period of time on the water can dull reflexes and impair judgment.
Thrill-seeking has also long been common in boating, with many operators traveling at high speed, jumping wakes, or bobbing in and out of traffic. Unfortunately, it’s more difficult under those conditions to bring a boat to a complete stop or navigate a turn to avoid a crash.
It’s also important to remember that boats and other watercraft can be complex machines with a susceptibility for malfunction. Equipment failure on a busy lake or river can put you at risk of serious injury.
What Can You Do to Maximize Your Safety in a Boat?
There are a few simple measures you can take to minimize the risk of injury in a boating accident this year:
- Have a list of safe practices for everyone on your boat—Include such factors as traveling at a safe speed, maintaining a safe distance from other watercraft, and choosing not to engage in risky or dangerous behaviors.
- Always wear a life jacket—Boating accidents can happen in an instant, and you may end up in the water in a compromised state. Wear a life jacket regardless of how well you can swim.
- Don’t drink and operate any type of watercraft—Drinking can impair your judgment in a very short period of time. The same holds true for recreational drugs.
- Keep your boat in top condition—Don’t expose yourself to needless injury by failing to keep everything in good working condition.
- Know what you need to do to stay safe—Have a solid understanding of basic safety practices.
Contact the Proven Texas Boating-Accident Lawyers at Bailey & Galyen
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we have provided effective counsel to personal injury victims throughout Texas for more than 40 years, including people who have been hurt in boating or watercraft accidents. Since our inception, we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for personal injury victims throughout the Lone Star State and across the nation. We will be your advocate throughout the legal process, from the investigation of your accident to the filing of a complaint, and through trial or other resolution of your lawsuit. Contact us by e-mail or call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
