PropellerSafety.com

Archive for September 2011

Entrapped by a Boat Propeller

The boating industry has long objected to propeller guards. One of their frequent objections is the possibility that someone might become entrapped in the propeller guard (physically caught on the prop guard). We find their objection interesting considering we frequently encounter reports of boat propeller accidents in which people were entrapped or entangled in open […]

Shark Attacks vs. Propeller Strikes: A Statistical Comparison

We often see media reports referring to propeller strikes as very rare or freak events, while shark attacks are trumpeted as an ever present danger. While both events share some potentially horrible outcomes and spark fear in victims and onlookers, propeller accidents are actually much more frequent. This post is being written in response to […]

Stephen Keller Boat Propeller Accident – Boat Propeller Fatality Statistics Under Reported – San Jose Mercury News Misinforms Readers

Stephen Keller’s fatal boat propeller accident on Lake Tahoe Saturday August 27, 2011 was covered by San Jose California’s Mercury News, because Stephen Joseph Keller DDS was a dentist in San Jose. Mercury News’ August 31st coverage of the boating accident made a major error in reporting the number of annual United States deaths by […]

Propeller Safety History Repeats Itself, Repeats Itself ….

While reviewing the U.S. Coast Guard’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on boat engine cut-off switches (lanyard kill switches), USCG-2009-0206, we noticed USCG included a 2008 review of their BARD (Boating Accident Report Database) in which USCG identified boat propeller accident injuries and fatalities from 2002 through 2006 that could have been prevented if the […]