Jet ski safety tips

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Boats aren’t the only recreational vehicles on the water this time of year.

Jets skis are also hitting the river.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Conservation Officers said jet ski safety is just as important as boat safety.

Officers want to remind riders to wear their life jackets and to make sure owners have their watercraft registered.

Jet skis are the smallest power craft out on the water this time of year, other than kayaks.

That’s why officers want to stress the need for people to know how to operate jet skies before getting on one.

“They’ve got the kill switch on there, have to have that. We watched one yesterday rollover, which they’re trained to. There’s directions on the back that are actually upside down that will tell you how to roll it back over and you’ve got to roll it over that way, otherwise, if you roll it the other way, it will end up taking in water in the engine compartment, so but, they need to be careful with them,” says Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Conservation Officer Private Joshua Stoll.

Stoll says jet skis are a personal watercraft and are treated as a registered vessel.