From left to right above are Sasa the dog, Trina Ward, 5-month-old Aiden Ward, Tom Werkema with 2-year-old Makaylyn Ward, 5-month-old Collin Ward, and Jake Ward. (Photo courtesy TWRA)
By Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
The biggest boating weekend of the year is among us, and officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are already busy investigating too many serious injury and fatal boating accidents.
At least eight of the fatal accidents that have occurred on Tennessee waters resulted in drownings and in most cases, if not all, a properly worn personal flotation device would have saved lives. Let’s take a lesson from the kids and see why, thankfully, we don’t lose many of them to drowning while boating.
The answer is simple: In Tennessee and in most other states, children ages 12 and under are required by law to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while on the open deck of a recreational boat except while anchored, moored, or aground. [Read more…]
