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CHICAGO (Reuters) - The American Academy of Pediatrics warned parents on
Monday not to let children younger than 16 operate Jet Ski-type watercraft,
which it said have been involved in increasing deaths and injuries.
The age recommendation is the same one endorsed by manufacturers of the
craft.
The variety, speed and number of such craft have increased since the 1970s
when Kawasaki Motors Corp. introduced the first one-person Jet Ski, the
pediatricians said, with newer models from several manufacturers capable of
carrying three people at up to 60 miles (96.5 km) per hour.
In a policy statement published in the February issue of ''Pediatrics,'' the
academy's journal, the U.S.-Canadian medical group said, ``No one younger
than 16 years should operate a personal watercraft,'' as such devices are
known generically.
It said the operator and all passengers on such craft should also wear life
jackets.
The Personal Watercraft Industry Association, which represents the
manufacturers of such devices, also recommends that operators be no younger
than 16 and possess a valid driver's license.
The medical group said it was issuing its own warning in part because the
devices are the only recreational boats for which the leading cause of death
is not drowning but blunt trauma, usually from collisions with another craft
or a fixed object.
There may now be 1 million such craft in North America, the group said, and
injuries associated with their use have increased dramatically. There were
at least 83 U.S. fatalities in 1997, it said, and injuries increased
fourfold from 1990 to 1995.
``Operators who rent the watercraft seem to be at especially high risk,''
the statement said.
``Operating characteristics contribute to these problems. They are
maneuverable only when the throttle is open. Contrary to experience in every
other motor vehicle, an obstruction is not avoided by slowing down and
turning but by maintaining or increasing speed and turning to avoid the
hazard,'' it added.
``In addition, as with any other watercraft, there is no ability to brake,''
it said. ``Stopping is achieved only by cutting the throttle and by
coasting; while coasting no steering is possible.''
Those quirks, it said, make it harder for inexperienced, younger drivers to
learn to use the craft safely.
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