News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 16, 2001

The Facts About Personal Watercraft Recalls

MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Fox, 202-715-1547
or
Elinore Boeke, 202-721-1621

WASHINGTON, DC -Today's personal watercraft are among the cleanest and quietest boats on the water today. They are also less likely than other motorboats to have a fire-related problem.

This week, personal watercraft manufacturers were unfairly assaulted when the anti-access group Bluewater Network issued a deceptive and misleading report that incorrectly cites voluntary recall figures as purported evidence of "production/design problems that could lead to fires."

"Bluewater's press release is utterly misleading and fundamentally false," said Monita Fontaine, Executive Director of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association.

The reality? "This is an industry that has worked tirelessly to address the concerns of our critics and improve our boats for our customers," said Fontaine. Over the past decade, personal watercraft manufacturers have invested enormous resources to make personal watercraft clean, quiet, and safe. Remarkable technological advances have resulted in 75 percent reduced hydrocarbon emissions, 70 percent quieter engines, and enhanced maneuverability features including off-throttle steering. Additionally, this summer Yamaha and Bombardier introduced 4-stroke engines, which are universally recognized as the cleanest, quietest and most fuel-efficient engine on the water.

"In any dynamic industry, glitches are inevitable," said Fontaine, "and personal watercraft manufacturers have conscientiously and voluntarily addressed problems in a prompt, responsible manner by instituting recalls and thereby avoiding possible injuries to consumers."

"It is unconscionable for Bluewater to slam an industry for doing the right thing."

Facts that the Bluewater report conveniently ignored:

The U.S. Coast Guard recorded that 1,545 vessels of all types reported fire-related problems in 1995-1999, resulting in 544 injuries. In 1999 alone, there were 388 fire-related problems involving all types of boats. Of these, 41 percent involved open motorboats, 36 percent involved cabin motorboats, 6 percent involved PWC, 5 percent involved houseboats, and 4 percent involved auxiliary sailboats.

There are 1.2 million personal watercraft owned in the U.S., 10 percent of all motorboats. The Coast Guard recorded 90 fire-related problems with personal watercraft during the 1995-1999 period, an average of 18 per year. There were 55 fire-related injuries recorded during that five-year period, an average of 11 per year.

·The Coast Guard requires fire extinguishers on all motorboats because of risk of fire when dealing with combustible substances.

From 1995 to 1999 both the number of personal watercraft as well as the hours of usage vastly increased, and overall rate of accidents involving personal watercraft declined across the country. PWIA and its members have worked with numerous states on legislation requiring mandatory education and safety procedures for personal watercraft use. Thanks to these cooperative efforts, personal watercraft accidents have been reduced by 17 percent since 1997, while boating accidents across the board have only decreased by 0.19 percent.

·In 1999, 99.7 percent of personal watercraft in use were not involved in an accident of any kind. This despite the fact that accidents involving personal watercraft are more likely to be reported due to several factors, including their high rates of rental, and strict reporting requirements.

·There is no basis for judging the safety of a vehicle by the number of recalls during an extended time period. Recalls are regularly instituted for a variety of products, from blenders to boats, airplanes to autos. In July 2001 alone, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 1.9 million cars and trucks were recalled in the U.S.