The so far unsuccessful search at Beaver Lake for 21-year-old Stacey Hernandez of Rogers is a heartbreaking situation that serves as a reminder of how vigilance is a necessary component of recreational activity on the lake.
Hernandez has been missing since March 24 after the canoe she was in capsized. Our condolences are extended to her family and friends.
What’s the point?
Life jackets, or personal flotation devices, are amazingly effective in saving lives, but only if they’re being worn.
As with so many tragedies like this, it all started with joyous pursuits. Her family rented a cabin on the lake and five, adults and teenagers, took a canoe and a paddle boat onto the water for an afternoon outing. After both boats capsized, two found refuge on a shallow sandy area in the lake while two others swam to the distant shore. In the confusion, nobody saw what happened to Hernandez, the oldest of the group, official said.
Two of the survivors wore personal flotation devices, known to a lot of people as life jackets. There's a reason for that. Hernandez did not wear one, and thousands of other Arkansans and visitors will duplicate that oversight over the course of the approaching warm weather months.
In the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's 2014 report on boating accidents in 2013, the agency reported a total of 15 fatalities. Three were the result of trauma from boating accidents while the other 12 involved drowning. Out of that dozen, 11 were not wearing life jackets when they ended up in the water. The chances of their survival were great had they been wearing life jackets, according to the report. In 2013, Beaver Lake had the second highest number of boating accidents in the state, behind the state's largest body of water, Lake Ouachita.
Hernandez' tragic accident should serve as a reminder to all lake-goers that water safety should be paramount when recreation involves being on a body of water.
What's the best life jacket? Whichever one you will wear. People who plan to be on the water should invest time beforehand in finding a personal flotation device that's most comfortable. An uncomfortable life jacket will tempt a user to remove it. Too many drownings have happened when a life jacket sat just inches away.
The U.S. Army Coast Guard puts it this way: "When you don't wear your PFD, the odds are against you. You're taking a chance on your life."
Would you ever wear a seat belt or have auto insurance coverage only on the day you believed you would get into a wreck, or do you keep both anytime you're in a moving vehicle because it's impossible to know when an accident will happen? It's the same with a life jacket: They're needed for the unexpected. Nobody plans the unexpected.
Modern personal flotation devices can be worn comfortably if selected well. Many people simply go for the cheapest or rely on someone else to provide what they need. That's placing a lot of trust in someone else's judgment.
As boating and swimming season gets under way in Northwest Arkansas, please put safety first. It's far easier to have fun when everyone is safe and nothing but good memories are created.
Commentary on 04/01/2015