It’s the last summer holiday weekend and the last chance for many to spend time on their boats.
Lou Ann McCracken of the U-S Army Corps of Engineers, says you should be sure to have a life jacket on hand for everyone. And she says it’s not enough just to have it in the boat, you need to put it on.
McCracken is a Natural Resource Specialist who works on the Mississippi River. McCracken says each year a number of boating accidents claim lives because someone fell into the water and overestimated their swimming ability. And sometimes swimming isn’t even an option, especially on rivers like the Mississippi.
McCracken says nine of ten people who drowned in lakes and rivers last year were not wearing a life jacket. She also says because the Mississippi is such a vast body of water, conditions vary on different sections of the river. What may be safe in one location could pose a danger elsewhere.
