What's your excuse for not wearing a lifejacket? Canadian Red Cross has heard them all from "it's too nice out" to "I'm close to shore" and "I'm a good swimmer." This summer, Red Cross urges you to drop the excuses and make sure that everyone in the family is zipped and clipped into their lifejacket before you step foot in your boat.
On May 20th, National Lifejacket Day, Red Cross staff and partners across Western Canada will be wearing their lifejackets for the duration of the day to raise awareness and encourage lifejacket use. "Lifejackets really do save lives," says Keely McBride of Canadian Red Cross, "but you must wear it. Using your lifejacket as a seat cushion, or stowing it away, won't help you if something goes wrong. Close by isn't close enough when it comes to lifejackets."
According to a recent Red Cross 10 year study of drownings in Canada, nearly 200 Canadians drown every year while boating. Of these who drown, 87% are not wearing, or are not properly wearing, a PFD or lifejacket. The study also shows that the vast majority of boating drowning victims, 93%, were men, 15 years or older.
"Assuming that you will be able to put your lifejacket on if you need it is one of the most dangerous mistakes that people make," McBride continues. "Drowning can happen extremely quickly. In those seconds when you really need a lifejacket - when it could really save your life - you won't be able to put it on," she says. "You will be unconscious and drowning."
Red Cross is encouraging all boaters, at all skill levels, and in all types of watercrafts, to wear their lifejackets in the boat. And remember to be a good role model - don't just make the kids wear lifejackets, wear yours too.
Mustang Survival, another Red Cross partner and makers of lifejackets, are also making it easy to wear a lifejacket this summer by offering Canadians an opportunity to win free lifejackets. Log on to the Red Cross website www.redcross.ca and enter for your chance at one of 10 family packs of lifejackets, or the grand prize of two adult inflatables.
"Putting on your lifejacket should be second nature," says McBride, "just like putting on your seatbelt in a car or a raincoat in the rain. A lifejacket can save your life, but you have to wear it for it to work."
