Rhode Island Requiring Life Jackets On All Kayaks, Canoes, Boats With Paddles

RHODE ISLAND — Wearing a life jacket while paddling a boat will no longer be optional in Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental management (DEM) on Thursday announced new boating safety regulations that make U.S. Coast Guard certified life jackets mandatory on all kayaks, canoes, kiteboards, paddleboards and other paddle craft. It is one of five new boat safety rules going into effect April 2.

Those caught in a paddle craft without a life jacket face a potential $100 fine.

State officials said there were three deaths from kayak accidents in 2022: A 56-year-old East Providence man who died in Newport on July 13, a 40-year-old Cranston man who died at Lincoln Woods State Park on July 23, and a 36-year-old Narragansett man who died in Narragansett on Oct. 1. None of the victims were found wearing a life jacket.

Between 2018 and 2021, four out of the 10 boating-related drowning deaths in the state were paddle craft users not wearing life jackets, according to National Association of State Boating Law Administrators data.

"Our regulatory changes are a direct result of the totally preventable paddle craft tragedies that Rhode Island has experienced in the past five years," Capt. Michael Schipritt, from the Rhode Island Division of Law Enforcement, said. "There is no time to put a life jacket on before a paddling accident. It's like trying to buckle your seatbelt before a car crash."

According to a U.S. Coast Guard report, eight out of 10 boaters who drowned were using boats less than 21 feet in length. Smaller vessels such as canoes and kayaks are less stable than larger vessels, and in strong currents, paddlers using them can put themselves in danger. Drowning is the reported cause of death in 75 percent of all boating fatalities. Of those who drowned, 86 percent were not wearing life jackets.

DEM officials said most boating fatalities are the result of capsizing or falls overboard, not collisions between boats running at high speed. Experts recommend that people who end up in the water stay with the boat, even if they can't get back in. They are more likely to be seen by potential rescuers if they are next to a boat.

A person should only swim for shore if wearing a life jacket, the likelihood of rescue is low, or they are close to shore and aren't able to climb back into or on top of the boat, DEM officials said.

"The key is the life jacket," Schipritt said. "A person who suffers swimming failure or loss of consciousness will stay afloat wearing a life jacket, but will drown without one."

See other new Rhode Island boating regulations here.