Life vests making headlines
Our weather is going to be quite warm for the next few days and that means Idaho’s rivers and lakes will see a lot of use from folks wanting to cool off.
With the fun on the water comes danger. Just last week, an Idaho Falls man drowned in Gem Lake after falling off his jet ski. He was not wearing a life jacket.
In the state of Idaho, everyone has to wear a life jacket while on a personal watercraft like a jet ski, no matter what age you are.
At Gem Lake just eight days ago, loved ones and rescue crews hoped to find 59-year-old Kelly Clay alive.
Sadly, his body was found just around dusk.
It begs the question: can tragedies like this be prevented?
Bonneville County Sgt. Jeff Edwards said it can.
“Prevention would have been having that life jacket on him before he ever got in the water. That would have been prevention there’s no doubt about it,” said Edwards.
Not every accident ends so tragically. Five rafters without life vests overturned in Grand Teton National Park Friday without any injuries.
Edwards said it’s just not smart to take the risk while on moving water, even though vests can be uncomfortable.
“We’ve had drownings where if the person had been wearing a life preserver, we would have at least found them very quickly,” said Edwards.
Life preservers are made to increase your odds of landing face up, too. A man napping in a river proved that point last week when worried onlookers found him alive. He was using his vest to buoy him up.
Idaho law requires any child under the age of 14 on a vessel under 19 feet in motion to wear a personal flotation device. If the boat is not moving in placid water, they can take it off.
Every person, regardless of age, must wear a PFD while being towed behind a vessel.
Also, when you’re on a boat, every person must have a PFD in their size on-board.
Violating any of these rules is an infraction and costs $99.
Edwards said rivers in Idaho usually run around 50 degrees. That’s a temperature that can easily knock the wind out of swimmers on impact.
