By ANDREW ADAM
Associate Editor

PORTAGE LAKES  Wearing a life jacket when on a boat is as important as wearing a seat belt in a car.

The state of Ohio wants people to know this, and is starting a “Wear It, Ohio!” campaign to encourage more people to voluntarily wear life jackets.

Richard Lowry, the Ohio Division of Natural Resources (ODNR) Watercraft Officer Specialist, explained what promoted this campaign.

“What we are looking for is the volunteer life jacket wearer,” Lowry said. “What prompted us is the survey the federal government sent out.”

The federal government found that less than one in seven adult Ohio boaters voluntarily wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket while riding in a boat. Wear It, Ohio! looks to change attitudes toward life jackets.

Beginning May 17, four state park lakes, including Portage Lakes, will participate in the campaign. At the ramps on the lakes, there will be locate authorities doing safety checks and offering literature on boating safety. Those who wish to participate will be given a life jacket for free to wear all summer long.

Taking the pledge requires participants to return the life jacket by October 31.
Lowry said that the campaign has been successful in other states that have done it so far. California and Tennessee both received positive feedback, and a few lives were saved by the life jackets that were handed out.

“The state of Ohio has purchased the inflatable life jackets we are going to give away,” he said. “We will go person to person, boater to boater. We get up front and personal with them, offer them (the jacket). We will do the ‘Try it, and you'll like it’ approach.”
The state of Ohio had 14 victims last year in boating-related incidents who were not wearing life jackets. Lowry said this is considered stable, but the point of this campaign is to prevent an increase before it happens.

Currently it is not mandatory to wear life jackets, but the federal government is considering it based on the results of Wear It in various states.

For more information go to ohiodnr.com or contact Richard Lowry at 330-644-2265.