You should have to wear a life jacket the whole time you’re on the water if you ride in a duck boat, says Congressman Andre’ Carson (D-Ind.). He’s sponsoring a new amphibious vessel safety bill in the U.S. House.
The bill includes all amphibious vessels, which includes duck boats.
Nine people from Indiana died in the duck boat sinking on Table Rock Lake in Branson this summer. Carson says they may not have died if the duck boat operator had been following suggestions from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Since 1999 more than 40 people have died in duck boats accidents, the vast majority of them from drowning when the vessel sunk. In 2002, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued recommendations to improve the safety of the vessels in cases of flooding or sinking, but little has been done to implement those measures, said a news release from Carson
“It could take months or years before we know exactly what went wrong in Branson,” said Carson. “But there is no reason why Congress needs to hold off on implementing existing safety recommendations. We know from past incidents that more can be done to make these vessels safe. We owe it to passengers everywhere to learn from this tragedy and take action now.”
His bill says canopies that could keep people from getting out have to be removed or replaced. It requires life jackets and says the duck boats have to adhere to Coast Guard regulations.
Carson’s bill would direct the Coast Guard to issue regulations within 180 days to require operators of amphibious passenger vessels to retrofit their vessels to provide reserve buoyancy. Vessel operators would have two years to comply with the requirements.
