Why Is My Boss Wearing A Life Jacket To Work?

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- On the exhaustive list of national "days" like "Talk Like A Pirate Day," or "Wear Plaid Day," it may not be as well known, but now that you've read this article, you won't be surprised to see co-workers on Friday, May 15th celebrating "Wear Your Life Jacket To Work Day."

Unlike Talk Like A Pirate Day, this event actually serves a purpose more important than making "arrrrrgh" joke, though for the record, our favorite is still "What kind of movies do pirates go to? Anything as long as they're rated "Arrrrrrrrrrrgh."

Wearing a life vest is now comfortable and easy enough that you can don one over your suit, sundress, or your hipster suspenders, and be comfortable all day. As long as you can whither the "Huh?!" looks from people who haven't heard about this.

"Wear Your Life Jacket To Work Day" is the brain child of the Safe Boating Council. You might also join in May 16th's World Record Attempt day for life jacket wearing.

Last year, there were 4,064 boating accidents in the U.S. and 610 people died, but that number is an improvement, marking the second lowest statistic recorded by the Coast Guard. Still, 2013 was a safer year with deaths increasing 9 percent.

"We thank our partners for their work in boating safety, particularly for the Wear It! and other key outreach initiatives promoting life jacket use, boating education efforts, and Operation Dry Water activities. Together, we focus on the important role of life jacket use, navigational knowledge and safe, sober boating to prevent accidents," said Capt. Jon Burton, director of inspections and compliance at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters.

Alcohol was again the leading factor in accidents, resulting in 21 percent of the deaths.

The Coast Guard reported, "Where the cause of death was known, 78 percent of fatal boating accident victims drowned; of those drowning victims, 84 percent were not wearing a life jacket. Where boating instruction was known, 77 percent of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had not received boating safety instructions. The most common types of vessels involved in reported accidents were open motorboats, personal watercraft and cabin motorboats. The vessel types with the highest number of fatalities were open motorboats, canoes and kayaks."