Many Iowans are polishing their pleasure boats for the first outings of theyear — and they’d better remember to count life jackets before pulling out.Next week is National Safe Boating Week and a state official says those lifejackets are life savers.Al Foster is a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.Earlier this month, two boaters fell out of a boat at Lake Red Rock inMarion County — the one who was wearing a life jacket lived. Foster saysit’s a common story in Iowa boating accidents.None of the four people killed in last year’s boating accidents were wearingpersonal floatation devices. Foster says most people hurt in boating mishapsaren’t wearing them either. Foster says it’s the law that a floatationdevice is ON-BOARD for each person, but they’re not required to be WORN.He says when adults wear life jackets, it sets an example for children inaddition to greatly increase one’s chances for survival.
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