SANDY POINT STATE PARK – Vowing to step up enforcement and outreach to protect Maryland’s boating public, the Maryland Natural Resources Police today outlined a campaign that will run weekends through Labor Day.
Seventeen people have died in boating accidents in Maryland so far this year, two short of the record reached in 2011 and 1996.
“The victims ranged in age from 7 to 63. They were boaters, crabbers, paddlers, anglers, casual passengers out for a fun day on the water,” said Lt. Col. Ken Ziegler, acting superintendent of NRP. “The vast majority of them were not wearing life jackets. They all had one thing in common: None of them thought anything bad was going to happen to them that day.”
Ziegler has authorized additional weekend patrols from now through Labor Day weekend to enhance our visibility in high-traffic and problem areas. These patrols —around the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, Ocean City and Deep Creek Lake — are dedicated to boating safety. Officers will be checking for life jackets and other required safety equipment, looking for reckless boaters and targeting alcohol- and drug-impaired operators.
