BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE
GOVERNOR
SAFE BOATING WEEK
2010
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, recreational boating is fun and enjoyable, and we are fortunate that North Carolina
has sufficient resources to accommodate the wide variety of pleasure boating demands; and
WHEREAS, boating is a marvelous source of recreation, to the unprepared it can be risky sport;
not knowing and obeying navigation rules or the nautical rules of the road, drinking alcohol or taking
drugs while operating a boat, or choosing not to wear a life jacket are all examples of human error or lack
of proper judgment; and
WHEREAS, wearing a life jacket reduces the risk of drowning by approximately 80%; and
WHEREAS, the 2010 addition to the North Carolina Boating & Water Safety Statute 75A requires
that, as of May 1, 2010, all boat operators under the age of 26 take an approved boating education course
and carry a boating education identification card while operating a vessel; and
WHEREAS, on average, 700 people die each year in boating-related accidents in the United States
and 20 people die each year in North Carolina; nearly 70% of these fatalities are caused by drowning; and
WHEREAS, the vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error or poor judgment and
not by the boat, equipment or environmental factors; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina joins the United States Coast Guard and other organizations
committed to encouraging safe boating habits in North Carolina and throughout our nation in urging
citizens to Boat Smart, Boat Safe, Wear it;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE, Governor of the State ofNorth Carolina,
do hereby proclaim May 22-28, 2010, as "SAFE BOATING WEEK" in North Carolina and call upon
all who participate in boating on our waters to practice safe and courteous boating, and continue to benefit
from boating education and safety services offered by the United States Coast Guard, United States Power
Squadrons, and the more than local flotillas of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE
IN WITNESS , I ha set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State ofNorth
Carolina at the Capitol in gh this sixth of April in the year of our Lord two thousand and ten and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.