Safety Saturday: Water Safety
Know the essentials for keeping safe around water!
The start of summer is just around the corner and Vogt Engineering wants you to be safe all summer long! In this issue of Safety Saturday, we will discuss water safety, boating safety, and the importance of wearing sunscreen.
International Water Safety Day and concurrently, Learn to Swim Day is observed annually in May and both events are dedicated to spreading awareness of the ongoing drowning pandemic, educating the community about the importance of learning to swim, and general water safety. Did you know drowning is a leading cause of unintentional death for children? Nearly 4,000 people drown in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another estimated 8,000 are treated for nonfatal drowning injuries. We're shining a spotlight on this so you know the essentials for keeping yourself, your family, and friends safe around water every day.
Water safety is about equipping yourself with the tools you need to be confident in and around water. Understanding essential water safety skills is a must and enhancing those skills through formal swimming lessons can help reduce the risk of drowning while also providing a sense of accomplishment through new learned skills.
Learning to swim is a necessity around swimming pools but when in a boat the use of personal floatation devices (PFDs) takes precedence. As the summer boating season kicks off, the single most important action you can take to prevent drowning while boating is to wear a PFD. Over the last few years, the U.S. Coast Guard reports a consistent increase in boating accidents, fatalities, and damage to property.
Whether you’re in a swimming pool, the lake, or the ocean, here are some safety tips to keep everyone safe:
- Maintain constant supervision with swimmers.
- Make sure everyone in your family learns to swim well.
- Always swim with a partner or as a pair. Never swim alone!
- Swim and boat only in designated and supervised areas.
- Always wear a PFD while boating, regardless of swimming skill.
- Be aware! Know what’s always going on around you at all times. Nearly a quarter of all reported boating accidents last year were caused by operator inattention or improper lookout.
- Swim and Boat Sober. Be responsible with alcohol consumption around water activities as alcohol continues to be the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents.
With all this fun in the water, we want to remind you how important it is to stay safe and protect yourselves against the sun. Due to the sun’s damage and skin cancer affecting people of all skin tones, you should limit your sun exposure and always apply SPF 30 (or higher) broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen. And don’t forget to reapply every couple hours!
Remember, while children are at a higher risk, anyone can drown. A great number of aquatic-related emergencies can be avoided by following our Safety Saturday tips.
