Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)

Table 2-44: Personal Watercraft Safety Data

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  1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Fatalities 5 20 20 28 26 34 35 56 68 57 84 78 66 68 50 71 57 56 65 68 67
Injured persons 156 254 402 532 708 730 915 1,338 1,617 1,837 1,812 1,743 1,614 1,580 1,424 1,362 1,228 952 1,007 919 982
Accidentsa 376 650 844 1,162 1,513 1,650 2,236 3,002 3,986 4,099 4,070 3,607 3,374 3,268 2,562 2,225 1,994 1,664 1,692 1,631 1,655
Sales 29,000 48,000 64,000 72,000 68,000 79,000 107,000 142,000 200,000 191,000 176,000 130,000 106,000 92,000 80,900 79,300 80,600 79,500 80,200 82,200 79,900
Number in use 92,756 126,881 178,510 241,376 305,915 372,283 454,545 600,000 760,000 900,000 1,000,000 1,180,000 1,200,000 1,230,000 1,220,000 1,220,000 1,170,000 1,250,000 1,230,000 (R) 1,190,000 1,230,000

KEY: R = revised.

a Total vessels involved.

NOTES

Personal watercraft are less than 13 feet in length and are designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing, or kneeling on the craft rather than within the confines of the hull.

Data on personal watercraft sales and number in use are estimates.

SOURCES

Fatalities, injuries, and accidents:

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, United States Coast Guard, Office of Boating Safety, Boating Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), available at http://www.uscgboating.org/statistics/accident_stats.htm as of Mar. 17, 2009.

Sales:

1987-90: Personal Watercraft Industry Association, available at http://www.pwia.org/Abo_PWC.htm as of June 19, 2000.

1991-2007: National Marine Manufacturers Association, Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract (Annual issues) available at http://www.nmma.org/facts/boatingstats/2007/ as of Mar. 17, 2009.

Use:

1987-96: National Marine Manufacturers Association, data compiled by the United States Coast Guard, personal communications.

1997-98: Ibid., available at http://www.nmma.org/facts/boatingstats/statistic98.html as of June 19, 2000.

1999-2007: National Marine Manufacturers Association, Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract, available at http://www.nmma.org/facts/boatingstats/2007/ as of Mar. 17, 2009.

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