Approval of Inflatable Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) for Recreational Boaters

As part of the Presidential Regulatory Reform Initiative, the Coast Guard is establishing approval procedures for recreational inflatable personal flotation devices (PFDs), designating recreational inflatable PFDs as ``associated equipment'' for purposes of defect notification, revising the approval procedures for other kinds of recreational PFDs, and making editorial changes. These procedures are intended to establish an efficient approval procedure for PFDs. The Coast Guard anticipates that recreational boaters will be more likely to wear inflatable PFDs than currently approved devices, thereby increasing use of PFDs by the boating public and saving lives.