Heads up.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be holding a public forum to
discuss
the merits of requiring all boaters to wear (not just carry) PFD.

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Washington, D. C. -The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public
forum to discuss mandatory wear of personal flotation devices (PFD) on
recreational boats, NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners has announced. The
one-day forum will begin at 9:00 am on August 25, 2004 at the NTSB Academy in
Ashburn, VA.

The purpose of the forum is to gather all available data, and to promote an
open and informative discussion of policy issues related to mandatory PFD use.
The Safety Board has a long history of working to improve recreational boating
safety. It has been on the Board's "Most Wanted" list of transportation safety
improvements since its inception in 1990.

"The Board has made a solid commitment to advance recreational boating safety
by all means available to our agency," said Chairman Engleman Conners. "A
public forum will be an excellent mechanism to bring together agencies and
organizations to identify solutions that will improve public safety in
recreational boating."

Coast Guard statistics show that 750 boaters died in 2002. Eighty-five percent
of those who drowned were not wearing PFDs, even though in many cases, PFDs
were aboard. These statistics have been consistent from year to year and Coast
Guard statistics show that approximately 450 lives could be saved each year if
the victims wore PFDs. The Safety Board wants to build on this information and
other data available to evaluate the safety benefits of mandatory wearing of
PFDs on recreational boating.

Currently, most States require PFD wear for children and for personal
watercraft operators. No State requires PFD wear for all occupants. Yet six
years of observational studies by the Coast Guard show that less than 5% of
adults in open boats wear PFDs.

Some of the issues discussed at the forum will be:

The impact of federal and/or state legislation mandating wearing of PFDs on
recreational boats
Various vessels and type of operation that should be included in or exempted
from mandatory wear rules
New PFD technology
Alternatives to mandatory wear rules

Registration details for the forum and directions to the Academy may be found
on the Board's website at www.ntsb.gov.

NTSB Media Contact: Keith Holloway, (202) 314-6100