The development of marine safety measures for recreational boaters is in some way hampered by the absence of reliable exposure data in relation to the amount of time spent boating.
There are two aspects to this issue:
- the number of boaters in the community
- the amount of time that is spent on the water
While there are data indicating the number of registered vessels, there are no data in relation to the number of boats or the number of boaters within the community.
This pilot study investigated the use of a logbook to collect boating exposure information from recreational boaters. The boaters were recruited at boat ramps and boat shows in metropolitan and rural areas of Western Australia. Two versions of a boating diary were piloted among 55 recreational boaters between August 2005 and January 2006. Participants were asked to record five items of information for each boating trip they made over a consecutive 6 month period and to return the diary information on a monthly basis.
A larger study would allow more accurate calculations of the risk of injury among recreational boaters in Western Australia. A national boating exposure study is currently being conducted through the National Marine Safety Committee.
Report
Williams HA and Pikora TJ.,Development and piloting a log book to determine the level of exposure to the risk of injury among recreational boaters. Injury Research Centre, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 2006.
School of Population Health
University information
CRICOS Code: 00126G
