Precomparison and postcomparison of the frequency of drowning deaths of recreational vessel occupants, overall and by demographic and other characteristics—Victoria, 1 December 1998 to 30 November 2004 and 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2010
| Preintervention period 1998/1999 to 2003/2004 | Postintervention 2005/2006 to 2009/2010 | Mann-Whitney U test | p Value | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | 1998/1999 | 1999/2000 | 2000/2001 | 2001/2002 | 2002/2003 | 2003/2004 | Total | 2005/2006 | 2006/2007 | 2007/2008 | 2008/2009 | 2009/2010 | Total | ||
| All | 9 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 59 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 30.0 | 0.01* |
| Gender | |||||||||||||||
| Male | 9 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 58 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 30.0 | 0.01* |
| Female | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | X | |
| Age (years) | |||||||||||||||
| 0–29 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 2 | 28.0 | 0.02* |
| 30–59 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 27.5 | 0.02* |
| 60+ | 4 | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 4 | 22.0 | 0.22 |
| Activity† | |||||||||||||||
| Fishing | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 2 | 3 | – | 5 | 1 | 11 | 22.5 | 0.20 |
| Pleasure cruising | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 1 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | 29.0 | 0.01* |
| Personal watercraft | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | X | |
| Racing | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | X | |
| Other | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 25.0 | 0.04* |
| Vessel type‡ | |||||||||||||||
| Powerboat ≤ 4.8 m | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 5 | 29.5 | 0.01* |
| Powerboat > 4.8–12 m | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 | – | 6 | 25.0 | 0.08 |
| Yacht keel boat | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 27.5 | 0.02* |
| Yacht trailer sailer | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | X | |
| Canoe, kayak, rowing boat, raft, pedal boat or fun boat | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 3 | 12.5 | X |
| Kiteboard/sailboard | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | X | |
| Personal water craft | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | X | |
| Method of propulsion | |||||||||||||||
| Motorised | 7 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 47 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 29.5 | 0.01* |
| Non-Motorised—Sail powered | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | 3 | 9 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 26.0 | 0.04* |
| Non-Motorised—Human powered | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 3 | X | |
| Waterway type | |||||||||||||||
| Enclosed | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 20.5 | 0.35 |
| Coastal | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 5 | 24.0 | 0.10 |
| Inland | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 21 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 30.0 | 0.01* |
X Insufficient data to obtain estimate.
*p Value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
†Does not include one postintervention death for which activity was not known.
‡Does not include one postintervention death for which powerboat length was not known.