PropellerSafety.com

Archive for Regulation – Page 2

Boat Design Defects: NBC4 Investigation “Small Craft Advisory”

NBC Channel 4, Washington D.C., aired a series of stories on boat design defects on 16 August 2017. The series focuses on: Two families: (1) family of Ryan Batchelder, 7 year old boy killed by a boat propeller in Georgia in 2014, and (2) family of Niki Bell, struck by a boat propeller in California […]

We submitted 2 Public Comments to NBSAC95

The U.S. Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) will be meeting April 21-23, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia for its 95th meeting (NBSAC95). The Coast Guard recently published a request for public comments in the Federal Register to be submitted by April 14th for distribution to NBSAC Council members. We responded today with two […]

Hawaii prop guard bill amended to be effective in 2088

We previously covered Hawaii House Bill 2024 requiring mandatory use of propeller guards on all recreational boats within 500 meters of shore. The bill was introduced and passed its first reading on 25 January 2016. On 27 January 2016 the bill was referred to the House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs (OMH) […]

Hawaii bill calls for mandatory propeller guards near shore

The recent death of Sri Shim by a boat propeller has energized calls for safer waters off Hawaii. Luke Evslin, injured in a high profile propeller accident 5 years ago, is also speaking out for the need for propeller guards. House Bill 2024 now calls for propeller guards / prop guards to be installed on […]

New South Wales (NSW) proposes mandatory wearing of kill switch lanyards

New South Wales (NSW), an Australian state that includes Sydney, recently proposed an update to their Marine Safety Regulations. The update addresses many issues, including mandatory wear of kill switch lanyards on vessels of less than 4.8 meters (about 15.75 feet) equipped with a kill switch. The new proposed safety regulations are introduced by their […]

Boat kill-switch article in Miami New Times by Trevor Bach

Following up on the Dinner Key July 4th, 2014 accident in South Florida (four fatalities and several critically injured), Trevor Bach of Miami New Times published a Riptide blog post on 31 July 2014 titled, “Dinner Key Tragedy: Advocates Say Florida Could Save Lives With One Simple Safety Law” In the article Trevor Bach notes […]

Backup Cameras Required on New Cars by NHTSA

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued its final rule 31 March 2014 requiring backup cameras on all new vehicles less than 10,000 pounds by May 2018. The rule includes trucks and busses. Field of view must include the 10 foot by 20 foot zone directly behind the vehicle. Many automobile manufacturers are already installing […]

BBC Boat Kill Cord Investigative Report

“Inside Out South West” on BBC aired about a ten minute investigative report on boat kill cord safety in the UK on Monday evening September 30, 2013. If you have not yet seen the video, details for viewing it through approximately Monday October 6th are on our announcement of the broadcast. If you are still […]

USCG’s “Estimating Benefits of Reducing Accidents” Our Public Comment

The U.S. Coast Guard requested public comments on an Industrial Economics Incorporated (IEC) report, “Estimating the Benefits of Reducing the Risk of Recreational Boating Accidents: Alternative Sources of Information on Fatalities, Injuries, and Property Damages” by August 27, 2013 in docket #USCG-2013-0437. The report was funded by USCG to investigate how underreporting / under reporting […]

USCG Propeller Safety Regulations Timeline / History

Since the mid 1990’s the United States Coast Guard has published several notices concerning proposed regulations involving propeller guards & other propeller safety devices, and requested public input on those proposals. While much of the focus has been on propeller guards, other propeller safety devices have also been discussed. Among them are swim ladder interlock […]