Through the end of September, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Watercraft reported that there had been nine boating-related fatalities so far this season, six less than the previous year's total and well below the average over the last decade of 13 fatalities per year. Boating fatalities have dropped overall from 184 in the previous decade (1993-2002) to 128 in the current decade (2003-2012), with just less than three months left in the reporting period. Increased public awareness, improved boating equipment, enhanced law enforcement and expanded boater safety education programs, along with the state’s mandatory boater education law, are all believed to have played a role in the reduction.
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