Water Safety in Missouri

Missouri's lakes and rivers are busiest, and most dangerous, in summer. Wear a life jacket on the water, keep a sharp lookout when you drive a boat, and plan extra care for June and July weekends, when most of Missouri's drownings happen. Anyone born after January 1, 1984 needs a boating safety ID card to drive on Missouri's lakes.

Missouri drowning and boating numbers

25 deaths

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is the state's central agency for boating crash data, and it also gathers data on drownings. Its 2025 report covers 2024:

• Drowning: 25 persons killed in accidental drowning incidents occurring in state waters (opens in a new tab), 5 more than in 2023. Another four drownings happened on private property and six were flood or other related.
• When: most drownings occurred on Saturdays and Sundays, and in June (10) and July (7).
• Boating: 128 boating crashes, with 14 people killed and 72 injured. All 12 fatal crashes involved only one boat. 79.7% of crashes happened May through August.

Other sources count differently. The U.S. Coast Guard's 2024 report lists 102 reportable incidents and 12 deaths in Missouri (opens in a new tab), with deaths by year of 14 in 2020, 28 in 2021, 17 in 2022, 6 in 2023 and 12 in 2024. CDC puts Missouri's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 1.42 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), above the U.S. rate of 1.31. Don't add these together. See our Missouri data page.

What Missouri's crashes show

The Highway Patrol report found:

• Lookout: "Failed to keep proper lookout" was the leading contributing circumstance for all crashes (opens in a new tab), followed by inattention.
• Training: of the 155 boat operators involved in crashes, 75 had no prior boater education.
• Alcohol and drugs: impairment was a known factor in 10 crashes.
• Timing: most crashes happened on weekends, between noon and 8 pm.

Put phones down, keep watching ahead, and choose a sober driver. CDC notes that among teens and adults, alcohol is involved in up to 70% of deaths associated with water recreation (opens in a new tab). Read boating under the influence and alcohol and swimming.

Missouri boating rules

Missouri law (RSMo 306.127) says every person born after January 1, 1984 (opens in a new tab) who operates a vessel on Missouri's lakes must carry a boating safety identification card showing they passed an approved boating safety course. Federal law requires children under 13 to wear a life jacket on a moving boat (opens in a new tab).

This is a summary, not legal advice. Check the Highway Patrol's Water Patrol Division before you go.

Lakes and rivers

CDC warns that lakes and rivers have hidden hazards such as dangerous currents or waves, rocks or vegetation, and limited visibility (opens in a new tab). Our guides to lake swimming safety and river safety explain how to plan for them.

What you can do today

• Make June and July weekends "life jackets on" weekends for the whole family.
• Get your boating safety ID card if you were born after January 1, 1984.
• Assign a lookout on busy lake days, and keep the driver's phone stowed.
• Pick a sober skipper before you leave the dock.
• Find swim lessons with our guide to finding swim lessons.