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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Park rangers are actively enforcing a state law requiring people to use life jackets while on rivers.
Last week, a group of college students were issued $50 tickets for not wearing life jackets while tube floating down the Provo River.
Officers are actively patrolling the river enforcing a 1987 law requiring anyone using a personal boat or vessel on a river to wear a personal floatation device. That includes floating tubes, kayaks, and rafts.
Ty Hunter, park manager at Utah Lake, said he advises his officers to use a more proactive approach with Provo River users, that is, to help educate floaters about the laws before citations are issued.
"We just want people to be safe," Hunter said. "We haven't had any incidents yet, but we just don't want to have anything happen to anyone."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
