NATIONAL STATISTICS

 

The United States Lifesaving Association annually polls its chapters for the number of rescues, drownings, and other statistical information reported by lifeguard agencies. This is not a comprehensive list of all statistics generated by all beach lifeguard agencies, but the statistics of most major agencies are included here.

USLA has calculated the chance that a person will drown while attending a beach protected by USLA affiliated lifeguards at 1 in 18 million (.0000055%). This is based on the last ten years of reports from USLA affiliated lifeguard agencies, comparing estimated beach attendance to the number of drownings in areas under lifeguard protection.  Below you will find the most recent year's statistics, as well as a five year overview. 

These are not Rehoboth Beach Patrol stats
but a complete list compiled from
beach patrols across the nation!

 

1999 National Lifesaving Statistics

Beach Attendance
     Total 281,194,600
Rescues
     Total 54,627
            Primary Cause
                  Rip Current 23,252
                  Surf 2,625
                  Swiftwater 21
                  SCUBA 205
*Note: The addition of the "Primary Causes" of "Rescues" will not add up to the "Total" rescues because some agencies do not specify the cause.
Cliff Rescues
     Total 69
Boat Rescues
     Total 2,245
            Passengers 2,463
            Vessel Value $44,084,182
Boat Assists
     Total 5,190
            Passengers 8,337
            Vessel Value $65,073,500
Preventive Actions
     Total 2,846,038
Medical Aids
     Total 210,867
            Major 7,834
            Minor 205,451
Drownings
     Total 111
            Unguarded Area 59
            Guarded Area 11
Fatalities
     Total 42
Enforcement Actions
     Total 822,543
            Warnings 767,480
            Boat/PWC 47,446
            Citations 7,256
            Arrests 361
Lost & Found Persons
     Total 12,554
Public Safety Lectures
     Total 5,212
            Number of Students 307,092

1995-1999
Five Year Statistical Comparison

Category 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Beach Attendance 261,386,894 233,280,027 290,537,587 256,721,418 281,194,600
Rescues 70,835 62,747 77,105 63,088 54,627
Preventative Actions 2,468,825 2,412,721 2,829,754 2,735,889 2,846,038
Medical Aids 158,587 179,750 216,398 209,317 210,867
Boat Rescues 4,766 4,699 3,679 2,618 2,245
 Passengers
 Vessel Value		 6,927
$89,415,011		 10,982
$85,758,456		 3,679
$60,355,153		 3,207
$56,012,701

8,337

$65,073,500
Drownings 118 79 98 111 70
 Unguarded Area
 Guarded Area		 100
18		 69
10		 84
14		 104
7

59

11
Lost And Found Persons 31,199 18,569 26,090 23,958 12,554
Public Safety Lectures 4,067 3,668 3,478 60,979 5,212
 Students  Attending 227,315 227,454 414,474 405,561 307,092
Agencies Reporting 96 84 105 86 79