Jet skiing is a fun and excellent activity for you and your family. As a buyer, you might be concerned about them whether they are safe or dangerous than boats, so let’s see statistically whether jet skis are safer than boats or not?
Jet skis can be dangerous than boats, but the statistics form the last decade (2010 – 2019) show that jet skis are 4.07 times safer than boats. And by making a few changes to the way you ride can dramatically reduce the risk of injury, and you can make it a safe sport for kids and adults to enjoy.
Any sport or activity has its risks and dangers, but those risks or threats shouldn’t concern you from doing those activities. By doing it the right way and the correct way will give you a lot of fun and thrill (by making you no need to worry about the risk of injuries or dangers due to that activity).
So, doing a few changes to the way you ride the jet ski will dramatically reduce the risk of injuries and dangers. Jet skiing is an enjoyable activity, and it is a safe activity if you do it the right way. So, it is tough to conclude which one safer? (go below for statistics).
The real question you should be asking yourself is not jet skis safer than boats or not. Of course, it is. The real question you should ask yourself is how to prevent that. That being said, let’s see the statistics of the injuries and accidents due to jet skiing and boating. And lastly, some safety measures to take along with it as well.
Small note: When I say jet ski (which is a trademark of Kawasaki), I am also referring to all PWCs types (Jet Ski, WaveRunner, and Sea-Doo) and will use the two names interchangeably.
Related post – Check my article on Is boating safe? (links opens in a new tab) to know statistically whether boating is safe or dangerous.
Interesting Statistics on Boat and Jet ski accidents
The statistics below can be an excellent resource for understanding jet ski and boat accident’s significant causes. And by knowing the causes, you can avoid them by making slight changes in the way you ride, which can immensely reduce your risk of serious injury.
- From 2010 to 2019, a total of 43,058 boating accidents occurred (source). Out of which, 10,757 are related to PWCs, and 16,895 are related to motorboats (open and cabin motorboats). With that, you can tell PWCs are a lot safer than boats.
- From 2010 to 2019, a total of 6,482 boating deaths occurred (source). Out of which, 423 are related to PWCs. With that, you can tell PWCs are a lot safer than boats (since no. of PWCs are less compared to boats, boat values are bit higher).
- From 2010 to 2019, a total of 27,747 boating injuries occurred (source). Out of which, 6,624 are related to PWCs. With that, you can tell PWCs are a lot safer than boats (since no. of PWCs are less compared to boats, boat values are bit higher).
- More than 60% of the accidents related to jet skiing are caused due to collision with a recreational vessel (source), which can be prevented by the proper lookout and not driving carelessly.
- More than 40% of boating accidents are caused due to operator inattention, less experience, and improper lookout (source), Which can be prevented easily by keeping all the things that distract you while operating the boat.
- However, there is a steady decrease in personal watercraft and boating accidents & injuries from 2010 – 2019. That ensures that many people are becoming knowledgable about jet skiing and boating.
- More than 40% of accidents occurred due to excessive speed and collisions (source), which can be prevented easily by not driving the jet ski fastly in unnecessary areas (where there are many other boaters).
- Most of the deaths related to boating and jet skiing are caused due to drowning in the water, despite the boat the fact that life jacket is most common among the boaters and jet skiers.
- Among all the boating accidents, around 20 -25% of them are related to personal watercraft, such as jet skis, sea-doo, Waverunner, etc. (source). With that, you can tell PWCs accidents are a bit less compared to boating.
Below are the complete deaths, injuries, accidents due to boating (source). By looking into the statistics, you will get to know how the accident rate is decreasing and increasing over time.
| Year | Deaths | Injuries | Accidents |
| 2010 | 672 | 3153 | 4604 |
| 2011 | 758 | 3081 | 4588 |
| 2012 | 651 | 3000 | 4515 |
| 2013 | 560 | 2620 | 4062 |
| 2014 | 610 | 2678 | 4064 |
| 2015 | 626 | 2613 | 4158 |
| 2016 | 701 | 2903 | 4463 |
| 2017 | 658 | 2629 | 4291 |
| 2018 | 633 | 2511 | 4145 |
| 2019 | 613 | 2559 | 4168 |
You can see the accidents, injuries, and deaths related to the jet skis (PWCs) in the table below. By looking into the statistics, you will get to know how many accidents, injuries, and deaths occur in the past years and their trends.
| Year | Deaths | Injuries | Accidents |
| 2010 | 38 | 776 | 1221 |
| 2011 | 44 | 764 | 1158 |
| 2012 | 58 | 721 | 1111 |
| 2013 | 36 | 601 | 954 |
| 2014 | 34 | 592 | 891 |
| 2015 | 33 | 623 | 1023 |
| 2016 | 46 | 675 | 1072 |
| 2017 | 46 | 624 | 1028 |
| 2018 | 42 | 634 | 1055 |
| 2019 | 46 | 614 | 1062 |
Related post – Check my article on Is Jet skiing safe? (links opens in a new tab) to know statistically whether jet skiing is safe or dangerous.
It is tough to conclude whether jet skis are safer than bots are not? So based on the statistics, you can say that jet skiing is safer than boating, but there are fewer jet skis compared to boats. So, the statistics show more accidents are caused due to boating.
By making those few changes to the way you ride, such as not driving the jet ski too fastly, wearing an appropriate life jacket that fits well, avoiding drinking alcohol while operating a jet ski, etc. can dramatically reduce the risk of injury and you can turn any activity or sport into a safe one.
Some of the safety tips to be followed while jet skiing and boating
We will now see some of the safety measures to take while operating a jet ski and boat.
You can check one of my articles to know the Major causes of boating accidents (opens in a new tab) in a detailed way for each case (cause). Okay, let’s see some of the safety measures to take while boating and jet skiing.
1. Don’t drive fastly
- More than 25% of the accidents related to jet skiing are caused due to riding the jet ski too fastly. By doing those slight changes to the way you ride the jet ski (now not driving the jet ski too fastly), you can prevent most of the accidents.
- Similarly, for boats, more than 20% of the accidents are due to excessive speed. By avoiding driving fastly while operating, you are 25% less likely to die or injure while boating and 20% while jet skiing.
2. Don’t drink alcohol while operating the boat or jet ski
- Alcohol consumption is causing the majority of deaths related to the boat. The accidents are significantly less, but after falling into the water, it’s hard to get back onto the boat because getting back onto the boat after drinking alcohol is difficult, and people are drowning.
- By avoiding drinking alcohol while operating the jet ski, you are 10% less likely to die while jet skiing and 20% less likely to die while boating.
3. Don’t drive carelessly
- Carelessness while driving a jet ski is causing most accidents like collisions with recreational boats. More than 50% of the accidents occurred in jet skiing are collisions with recreation boats, which tells that the riders are not careful while riding the jet ski.
- Riding the jet ski slowly in the fewer traffic areas will reduce the majority of the accidents. By avoiding carelessness while operating the jet ski, you are 20% less likely to die or injure while jet skiing.
4. Take a boating safety course
- Before starting boating or jet skiing for the first time or as a beginner, the essential thing you need to do is take a boating safety course. By taking a course, you will get to know about the jet ski, boat, terminology, rules, laws, etc., which help you a lot in advance.
- By taking a boating safety course, you will get some experience, and you will get to know the rules, which makes you 25% less likely to die or injure while jet skiing and 50% less likely to die or injure while boating.
Related post – Check my article on Boating safety tips (opens in a new tab) to know the essential safety tips in detail.
Bottom line
Safety will be the first priority to anyone, and by taking some measures while jet skiing (operating the jet ski), you can do that. After making those changes to the way you ride the jet ski, you can prevent the majority of the jet ski and boat accidents.
By making those few changes to the way you ride, such as not driving the jet ski too fastly, wearing an appropriate life jacket that fits well, avoiding drinking alcohol while operating a jet ski, etc. can dramatically reduce the risk of injury and you can turn any activity or sport into a safe one.
