ABYC Standards Significantly Reduce Boating Accident Frequency and Severity
The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC), a nonprofit association that sets voluntary global safety standards for the design, construction, maintenance, and repair of recreational boats, in collaboration with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), released a significant analysis by independent research firms Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc) and ITA International. This analysis focuses on the effectiveness of ABYC standards in enhancing recreational boating safety and was presented during the USCG/ABYC Risk Mitigation webinar "Don’t Be a Statistic. Data Saves Lives" on May 1.
During the webinar, Megan Sheahan, a senior associate at Industrial Economics, reported that boats certified to ABYC standards are 43% to 47% less likely to be involved in certain types of accidents. Additionally, adherence to these standards reduces the likelihood of fatalities by 26% to 58% in accidents that do occur, demonstrating that ABYC standards not only decrease accident occurrences but also lessen their severity.
"This important research confirms what many have believed anecdotally, which is recreational boats that are built to voluntary standards are less likely to be in certain accidents than those built to the Coast Guard's minimum standards,” said Jeff Ludwig, chief of the Recreational Boating Product Assurance Branch at the USCG. “In many cases voluntary standards exceed the Coast Guard's requirements, and this extra effort by some manufacturers should be noted by consumers."