The annual cold weather life jacket requirement is in effect.<\/p>\n
HARRISBURG, Pa. \u2014<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) reminds boaters, anglers, and hunters that beginning Sunday, November 1, 2026, the annual cold-weather life jacket requirement is in effect.<\/p>\n
Video above: Headlines from WGAL News 8.<\/p>\n
From November 1 through April 30, boaters are required to wear a U.S. Coast Guard- approved life jacket while underway or at anchor on boats less than 16 feet in length or on any kayak, canoe, or paddleboard. The requirement applies to all Pennsylvania waters.<\/p>\n
Even on warm, sunny days, from late fall through early spring, water temperatures can remain frigid on rivers, lakes, and streams across the Commonwealth. <\/p>\n
Sudden cold-water immersion, or cold-water shock, occurs when a person is unexpectedly plunged into cold water, resulting in an involuntary gasp in which water is often inhaled. <\/p>\n
This uncontrollable reaction causes panic, hyperventilation, inhalation of water, and inhibits the ability of a person to swim. By wearing a life jacket, victims can dramatically increase their chances of keeping their heads above water until they can get out of danger or be rescued.<\/p>\n
According to Pennsylvania boating accident reports, nearly 80% of all boating fatalities occurred because boaters were not wearing life jackets. Since the mandatory life jacket wear law was enacted in 2012, the PFBC has seen a significant reduction in the percentage of boating incidents resulting in fatalities during the cold weather months.<\/p>\n
The PFBC also recommends that anglers participating in ice fishing this winter always wear a life jacket to provide lifesaving protection in the event of a fall through the ice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The annual cold weather life jacket requirement is in effect. HARRISBURG, Pa. \u2014 The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9750,122492,35413,2700,58835,68327,89183,10250,62372,38713,129724,7020,1246,28146,40735,31947,22237,18607,129721,129722,105,86243,12186,28,30,29,1358,60216,37356,43341,7363,129723,1133,2812],"class_list":["post-318909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-and","tag-angler","tag-anglers","tag-boat","tag-boat-commission","tag-boater","tag-boaters","tag-cold","tag-cold-water","tag-commission","tag-early-spring","tag-effect","tag-fatality","tag-fish","tag-hunter","tag-hunters","tag-ice-fishing","tag-in","tag-jacket","tag-late-fall","tag-life","tag-life-jacket","tag-november","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-person","tag-pfbc","tag-reminder","tag-requirement","tag-safety","tag-safety-reminder","tag-weather","tag-wgal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}