Life Vests Required on King County Rivers

Starting July 1, people floating on rivers in King County will be required to wear a life vest.

The requirement will remain in effect until Oct. 31. First-time violators will be given a warning.

King County Executive Dow Constantine today signed the life vest ordinance adopted late Monday by the Metropolitan King County Council.

The ordinance supplements current state regulations on boaters who are required to wear life jackets on local lakes and bodies of water — such as Lake Washington.

The commission’s Boating Program recommends safety tips:

• Wear approved life jackets: State law requires all vessels (including nonmotorized watercraft) carry at least one U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person on board.
• Vessels 16 feet or longer must have one Coast Guard-approved throwable personal flotation device aboard.
• People on board personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis, and water skiers must wear life jackets.
• Children ages 12 and younger must wear life jackets aboard vessels less than 19 feet long.
• Check life jackets for tears, wear and proper fit. Life jacket sizing is based on body weight and chest size, and children often grow out of life jackets from season to season.

The King County Sheriff will enforce the wearing of a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device, or PFD, in the unincorporated portions of the Snoqualmie, Tolt, Cedar, Green, White, Raging and Skykomish rivers that run outside of cities.

The measure calls for a public education campaign to alert residents of the requirement by posting signs at primary access points to major rivers, and to promote life vest use in partnership with regional organizations focused on drowning prevention, says a news release from Frank Abe, director of
communications for Constantine.

Officials recorded 18 boating fatalities statewide last year.