Propeller Guard Information Center

Archive for BARD

Jun
8
2013

2012 Public BARD Released – Our lists updated

by Gary

U.S. Coast Guard sent us a copy of the Public Release version of their 2012 Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) in late May 2013. We were busy with a few other projects at that time, but recently had some time to look more closely at the database.

The big news is more states allowed their data to be included. Only 10 states and one territory refused to allow their data to be included (Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). If they reported on time, their summary data is included in the totals USCG previously published in their 2012 Recreational Boating Statistics annual report, but their individual accident data is not available in 2012 Public BARD. Several other states redacted one of more data fields, but allowed most of their data to be included.

The ten states and territories failing to report say they do so for privacy issues. After recent revelations out of Washington, D.C. (massive phone and Internet snooping by the Federal government) it seems pretty obvious to us that individuals in those states should have much larger more important privacy concerns than someone printing their boat Hull number and tying it to an accident date (no names or addresses are printed in Public BARD). We strongly encourage all states to report their data to help make boating safer in their state, and across the country.

About the same number of states and territories refused to report to 2011 Public BARD. This is still a great improvement over 2010 Public BARD when over 25 states and territories refused to allow their data to be included. Overall, in 2012 1,001 accident reports were deleted by the states vs. 997 in 2011, and 1,910 in 2010. Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
May
15
2013

USCG Releases Recreational Boating Statistics 2012

by Gary

U.S. Coast Guard released their annual recreational boating accident statistics report on Monday May 13th. The total fatality count for 2012 was 651 deaths, a record low. USCG reported 181 propeller accidents, 187 propeller injuries, and 19 propeller fatalities. For a more in depth historical comparison of propeller accident data, please see our Propeller Accident Statistics page.

Table 17 Frequency of Events in Accidents & Casualties Nationwide (see below) continues to follow the format USCG adopted in 2009 based on our and SPIN’s suggestions to reduce confusion between Event 1 and All Event data.

Table 17 from USCG Boating Statistics 2012

Table 17 from USCG Boating Statistics 2012

USCG reports accidents as a series of events, such as Event 1 = Struck Submerged Object, Event 2 = Person Overboard, Event 3 Person Struck by Propeller. Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
Dec
25
2012

Medical Care Advances Influence Trends in BARD Fatalities

by Gary

USCG MH-60 Helicopter

USCG MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter
USCG image

The U.S. Coast Guard has long touted the downward slope in annual BARD (USCG’s Boating Accident Report Database) fatalities as a measure of improvements brought about by:

  • Regulations
  • Law enforcement presence
  • Boater education
  • Boating safety programs
  • Improvements in boating equipment

USCG reported 1,754 recreational boating fatalities in 1973 (the highest number of fatalities since 1970). Annual fatalities gradually dropped to 821 in 1997. Annual reported fatalities have bounced around a little since 1997, but continued their gradual decline to 672 in 2010.

The Coast Guard and other boating safety organizations were hoping for a continued decline in 2011. They anticipated the safety programs in place, plus the poor economy (fewer people boating) and high price of gas (boating fewer times for shorter durations) would result in a landmark low number. However, 2011 came in at 758 deaths, a total unequaled since 1998. Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
Oct
25
2012

Boat Propeller Accident Statistics / BARD Database: Historical Calls for Improving Completeness, Accuracy, and Ease of Use

by Gary

Many have called for improving the completeness, accuracy, and ease of use of the records surrounding boat propeller accidents.

Those seeking to prevent or mitigate propeller accidents are generally forced to rely upon the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Annual Boating Statistics report for propeller accident frequency data. For example, we covered the release of the 2011 Boating Statistics. We post propeller accident frequency data from the annual Boating Statistics reports from the last several years on our Propeller Accident Statistics page.

USCG recognizes not all accidents are reported in BARD, but claims almost all of the fatalities are reported. USCG claims the more serious the accident, the more likely it is to be reported. The boating industry says most propeller accidents are serious, USCG says the more serious the accident the more likely it is to be reported, so most propeller accidents are reported.

The individual accident reports behind USCG’s annual Boating Statistics report are themselves summarized in USCG’s annual Boating Accident Report Database (BARD).

When researchers are trying to determine the magnitude of a particular problem (such as boat propeller accidents), they first turn to USCG’s annual Boating Statistics report. Then to better understand the specifics of the individual accidents and if a particular device or process might have prevented or mitigated a particular accident, they turn to the individual accident reports in BARD.

The problems with that approach are: Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
Jun
30
2012

Boat Kill Switch Wear Rate Estimated from U.S. Coast Guard BARD Data

by Gary

Last year, the U.S. Coast Guard proposed a regulation requiring operators of certain boats to wear kill switches (like lanyard kill switches the stop the engine if the boat operator is ejected). A few states have already enacted similar requirements.

Kill Switch Lanyard on Wrist

Kill Switch Lanyard on Wrist – Image courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard

USCG’s request for public comment asked for data on current kill switch (engine cut-off switch) wear rates including kill switch wear rates in states like Alabama that require them. We have since searched fairly widely and found no public data on boat kill switch wear rates or estimates of boat kill switch wear rates.

In response to the Coast Guard’s request, and several other projects, we decided to attempt to estimate kill switch wear rates from previously collected boat accident data in USCG’s Boating Accident Report Database (BARD).

BARD began collecting kill switch wear data on boat operators involved in reportable boat accidents in a separate data field in 2009. Prior to then, the redacted narrative (description of the accident) sometimes mentioned if one was used or not.

We limited our study to vessels identified as open motorboats in the accident reports. Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
Mar
15
2012

Boat or Boat Motor Struck Submerged Dredge Pipe: Exemplar Boat Accidents

by Gary

The Storm Lake Iowa Laass v. Brunswick case has focused attention on boats and marine drives striking submerged or floating dredge pipes / dredge lines. In the Storm Lake accident, a ten year old boy, David Paul McFarlin was killed on May 31, 2010. A 175 HP Mercury outboard struck a submerged dredge pipe, flipped back up into the boat, and the boy was killed by its propeller.

We started looking for a list of similar “struck dredge pipe” accidents and were a bit surprised not to find any such list. We thought it might especially exist over in the dredge safety literature, but found no such list there either. We found some dredge safety studies, but they focused on the safety of dredging employees, not boating safety.

In the absence of a list, we started making one ourselves. Earlier, when we started making a list of outboard motors that had flipped into boats, we jotted down several U.S. Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) accident numbers for dredge pipe strike accidents. We went back and fleshed out those accidents into a spreadsheet format including the basic statistics surrounding those accidents.

We also checked some media (news) reports, boat forums, and other online sources for additional boat or outboard motor or stern drive struck a floating or submerged dredge pipe accidents. We found almost countless reports online, but few of them are well documented, so we left them off our list. It looks like these accidents happen much more frequently than they are reported to BARD.

The spreadsheet below summarizes our findings. You can download a pdf of the spreadsheet that includes additional columns of data by clicking on it. It is best viewed on a 24 inch or larger monitor.
Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
Feb
25
2012

Outboard Motor Struck Submerged Object And Flipped Into Boat: Exemplar Outboard Boat Accidents

by Gary

The Storm Lake Iowa Laass v. Brunswick case has focused attention on outboard marine drives striking submerged objects and flying back up into the boat. In the Storm Lake accident, a ten year old boy, David Paul McFarlin was killed on May 31, 2010. A 175 HP Mercury outboard struck a submerged dredge pipe, flipped back up into the boat, and the boy was killed by its propeller.

First, a point of clarification. The U.S. Coast Guard does not recognize accidents in which people are on boats or otherwise not in the water when they are struck by propellers as propeller accidents, so this is “officially” not a propeller accident.

Marine drive manufacturers use relief valves and check valves in the trim systems of stern drives and larger outboards to cushion the blow and absorb the energy of striking submerged objects. The relief valves allow the cylinder rod to extend (drive to swing up as it dissipates energy), then the check valves allow the cylinder piston to settle back down to a “memory” piston. Mercury Marine is well known for conducting log strike tests which we discuss on our Laass v. Brunswick page, and supply an early video near the bottom of this page.

We often see U.S. Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) reports in which an outboard was torn from or broke off the transom. Some of these outboards sink, while others remain attached by cables, hoses, and/or fuel lines. In some portion of these instances, the outboard strikes a submerged object and actually flies up / flips up and lands in the boat. As a result, people in the boat can be struck by the outboard or cut by its still rotating propeller.

We decided to investigate BARD and some other sources to gain some greater understanding of these types of accidents and perhaps some insights into their frequency. Read More→

5 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
Feb
8
2012

Michael Hinton v. Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) propeller accident trial

by Gary

Michael Hinton was trying to retrieve his son’s hat which had blown into the water on September 10, 2000. He was on the swim deck, crouched, hanging onto the swim ladder and getting ready to reach for the hat. The swim ladder was anchored to the transom by a nylon strap through a grommet. The grommet broke and Hinton fell in, went under a few seconds, then surfaced several yards away.

The boat operator backed up to retrieve Mr. Hinton, he swam toward the stern, as Mr. Hinton looked up he saw the boat rapidly approaching, hit his chin on the swim platform, one of his legs was pulled into the propeller and severely injured, and later amputated.

Michael Hinton claims the boat had a defective swim ladder.

As noted above, the trial focused on the ladder, but they would not have had a trial if he had not been injured by the propeller.

The Jury decided in favor of OMC on February 2, 2012. Read More→

0 Categories : Legal Shorts
Feb
3
2012

Propeller Fatality Cap and Trade With a Tax On Over Cap Fatalities

by Gary

We propose a tax on fatal boat propeller accidents similar to a tax on pollution as a means of encouraging marine drive companies to prevent propeller injuries.

The U.S. Coast Guard Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking surrounding propeller and carbon monoxide safety (USCG-2011-0497) asked for public comments on possible strategies to reduce propeller injuries. Thinking about the continuing inaction of the boating industry when many good tools are readily available, I began to look to examples in other industries, where firms previously resistant to human welfare issues had been energized for change. I quickly came to the automotive industry and how they originally resisted calls to improve mileage and/or reducing emissions. Established regulatory targets forced them to action (new car emission limits and fleet mileage targets).

Propeller Fatality Permit mockup

Propeller Fatality Permit mockup

Somewhat similar process have been used on broader industries to regulate emissions. Notable policies include:

  • Taxing of emissions
  • Cap and Trade of emissions permits (credits)

We regulate emissions for public welfare. Beyond the desire for clean air, emissions kill asthmatics and others with breathing issues, as well as bring on other medical problems. Automotive mileage is regulated to reduce fuel consumption which reduces emissions.

Our parallel idea is to consider fatalities from boat propeller accidents to be parallel to boating emissions and regulate them with a cap and trade system as well.

We are not saying the program as described below should be implemented. We are just presenting it to generate discussion. Some version of this approach might be an effective incentive in encouraging the industry to take action while not placing too large of a burden upon them. We welcome your comments.

We note the U.S. Coast Guard added a data field to their Boating Accident Database (BARD) in 2009 for “engine manufacturer”. Many accident reports have no entry in that data field, but it offers an opportunity to associate propeller fatalities with the manufacturer of the stern drive or outboard motor involved in that accident. We suggest strongly encouraging state boating law administrators to encourage those recording accident data to make sure they record the engine manufacturer data for propeller fatalities and possible propeller fatalities. We also suggest they capture a digital image of the drive on the boat when possible to backup that identification.

We also encourage providing a means by which those reporting accidents can accurately distinguish between OMC and Bombardier drives (paint color, markings, decals, significant features, build dates, etc). This would be useful in distinguishing boats powered by legacy OMC drives, vs. boats powered by more modern (2001 or later build date) Bombardier drives.

Armed with that information, the annual number of recreational boat propeller fatalities tied to each marine drive manufacture can be determined, as well as annual trends by manufacturer.

Below we present a Propeller Fatality Cap and Trade with a Tax on Over Cap Fatalities. This approach is a hybrid of two methods we presented earlier Propeller Fatality Tax, and a Propeller Fatality Cap and Trade.

Please note, the numbers and dollar amounts below in bold are just placeholders to begin a conversation. Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
Feb
3
2012

Propeller Fatality Tax, Cap and Trade Background Information

by Gary

We discuss Propeller Fatality Cap and Trade With a Tax on Over Cap Fatalities as a means to reduce recreational boat propeller fatalities in another post. While developing those concepts, we explored some other venues as well. The less desired approaches are provided here as reference material.

In general, they present an approaches similar to cap and trading of emissions.

Two such approaches are presented here

  • Propeller Fatality Tax
  • Propeller Fatality Cap and Trade

The numbers presented in bold are merely placeholders to generate discussion. Read More→

0 Categories : Propeller Accident Statistics Comments
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