Duck boats face increasing calls for improvements, bans

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Duck boats face increasing calls for improvements, bans

By DENISE LAVOIE
Feb. 20, 2017 10:36 AM EST

BOSTON (AP) — With their festive, party-like ambiance and ability to travel on land and in water, duck boats have long been tourist attractions for sightseers around the U.S. But a string of deadly accidents has left the industry reeling, forced safety improvements and led some advocates to call for a total ban on the vehicles.

In Seattle, after five college students were killed in a 2015 duck boat collision with a bus, the company pulled half its fleet out of service. In Philadelphia, a duck boat operator suspended its tours indefinitely after three people were killed in two separate crashes. And in Boston, new safety regulations are set to go into effect in April after a duck boat ran over and killed a 28-year-old woman last spring.

Boston has a special fondness for duck boats, which have become a mainstay of parades celebrating sports championships. Earlier this month, two dozen duck boats carried the New England Patriots through the streets of Boston for a "rolling rally" to celebrate the team's Super Bowl win.

But duck boats have lost some of their appeal in Boston and other places where people have been seriously injured or killed.

"We believe that duck boats in their current design should be banned," said Ivan Warmuth, the father of Allison Warmuth, who was killed on April 30, 2016, when a duck boat ran her over on her motor scooter.

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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/30ede185046a470abf911ca966998036/duck-boats-face-increasing-calls-improvements-bans

[Greybnk48]

1. Sounds like the solution is better drivers

not better boats. In Wisconsin Dells, who were the first to use the Ducks for tourism in 1946, I don't think there have ever been any fatalities. I may be wrong, but I couldn't find any.

[NurseJackie]

2. The same "better drivers needed" logic could also be used to avoid requiring seatbelts.

If people would just quit crashing into things, then there would be no need for the annoyance and inconvenience of seatbelts.