DATE: Wednesday, August 27, 1997            TAG: 9708270564

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: CHICAGO                           LENGTH:   42 lines

SURVEY: WATER SCOOTER INJURIES QUADRUPLED NATIONALLY IN FIVE YEARS

Injuries from personal watercraft, the speedy scooters seen bouncing over waves along seashores, more than quadrupled in five years, federal researchers say.

The number of such watercraft, commonly known by the brand name Jet Ski, tripled in the United States during the first half of the 1990s, while the injury rate involving their use was rising more than four times, according to a survey published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Much of the problem was blamed on the failure of riders to use life jackets or receive sufficient safety training.

``There are no regulations to speak of, no guidelines,'' said Christine Brache, an epidemiologist who heads the CDC's unintentional injury prevention program.

Injuries related to the machines went from fewer than 3,000 in 1990 to more than 12,000 in 1995, Brache reported in today's edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The number of personal watercraft in use in 1990 was estimated at 241,000, and 760,000 five years later.

The survey tracked emergency room visits at randomly selected hospitals across the nation during the first five years of the decade. Only non-fatal injuries were recorded, but other studies indicate that there were 58 deaths related to the watercraft last year.

A spokesman for Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., the maker of the Jet Ski brand, said the industry supports requirements that riders use life jackets, attend education programs and be at least 16 years old.

``We're prepared to support mandatory education if it isn't just a revenue raiser . . . and actually increases safety,'' spokesman Roger Hagie said.

The Coast Guard is studying the issue of mandatory training.

Personal watercraft are driven by an engine attached to a jet pump with no propeller or outside moving parts. KEYWORDS: PERSONAL WATER CRAFT JET SKI WATER SCOOTER

ACCIDENT INJURIES

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