Ducks are returning to our streets as of today. Ducks were approved for road use during World War 2, so due to inertia they remain street legal today. The fact that their new mission is to amuse tourists and that they’re going to crush Wallingfordians instead of Nazis and their allies is irrelevant.
The specifics of the accident on Aurora are being addressed, just like specifics from several previous fatal accidents have been addressed. These are the latest changes:
- The vehicles will take the Fremont Bridge and Ballard Bridge instead of the Aurora bridge
- There will be two vehicle operators instead of one- a driver and a separate narrator
- For now only the vehicles with newer axle designs called “Truck Ducks” will be used, “Stretch Ducks” like the one on Aurora are still be re-certified
- There’s new driver training- the vehicles started practice runs this past Wednesday, but it’s unclear when they’ll start back up with tourists.
It’s enough to prevent an exact repeat of what happened on Aurora, but should the things be legal at all? The vehicles still have no bumpers and visibility is lousy for congested roadways shared with cyclists and pedestrians. There’s no modern safety equipment or fail safe systems. It’s a lot of risk to take for vehicles that only serve to truck around tourists while contributing to congestion and pollution problems.
Sounds like it’s time to Duck and Cover 🙂
The 2-person crew is a big improvement; trying to manage any vehicle, let alone an odd-shaped one like that, is not a job that should not be multi-tasked.
Given that even the newer ones are museum-pieces, a more rigorous inspection program should be put in-place to prevent the sort of mechanical failure that caused the Aurora disaster.
The concern with the new route is that Westlake/Fremont/34th are far more popular biking & walking routes than the old route. The northbound merge when coming off the bridge sidewalk is of particular concern, given the large blind-spot in the duck-boats. The westbound uphill bike lane on 34th isn’t the comfiest at the best of times, and having large vehicles with poor visibility is also a concern, there.
I don’t have fundamental issues with the concept, and it’s a fun way for visitors to explore Seattle, which, historically, is very much a maritime city. However, safety of the passengers and the other road users has to come first, even if it means eliminating this attraction.
That northbound merge onto 34th makes me nervous every time I drive it, and I drive a tiny car with good visibility. It’s just so hard to navigate and there are so many bikes and pedestrians coming from multiple directions. I can’t really fathom how the Ducks will get through there without incidents. It’s a really poor choice of route.
As a cyclist, a bigger concern with the Ducks route would be the right turn from N 34th Street to N Northlake Way. This crosses a fast (20 MPH) eastbound bike lane, and then the busy Burke-Gilman trail. There is also a worry that Ducks would get held up there by Burke-Gilman traffic and block eastbound traffic on 34th Street.
Also, since we’re talking terminology, I object to calling the fatal Aurora collision an “accident”. This was caused by a known mechanical defect in the vehicle that went unaddressed by the company, along with many others. This was negligent, at best.
http://q13fox.com/2015/12/15/state-commission-finds-442-violations-for-ride-the-ducks-seattle/
The mechanical failure (front-left axle sheared off) was compounded by the conditions on Aurora, which has too-many too-narrow lanes for the speed-limit, along with no center divider, which would’ve significantly mitigated the carnage following the axle failure.
Poorly designed road + neglecting the health of their vehicles = not an accident.
I have no idea why these vehicles are being allowed back on the streets. The NTSB is still investigating last year’s Aurora Bridge crash.
I refuse to use the word “accident” in relation to that crash. Ride the Ducks Seattle was found to have 442 safety violations by the state transportation commission. They had been warned about an axle issue by Ride the Ducks International, but did nothing about it. 5 people died on the Aurora Bridge when a Duck’s axle broke. This wasn’t an accident. It was negligence.
And now they’re back on the road, driving a MORE dangerous route than before.
Hundreds of thousands of cyclists cross the Fremont Bridge each year. The transition from the bridge to 34th is a sketchy one, with bikes and motor vehicles merging into a very tight space. The stretch from Fremont Ave to Stone Way, along 34th, is also very narrow. Riding that bike lane is tight enough when sharing the road with regular-sized vehicles. The Ducks are way too big for this space. They need to go away.
I fail to see any reason the Fremont bridge is safer for these vehicles than the Aurora bridge. There just won’t be bad flashbacks.
Meanwhile, I pity anyone stuck near one of those Ducks while waiting when the bridge goes up.
The Ducks’ website lists three tours each day right now, during the low season for tourism. But come summer, they advertise a tour leaving every 20 minutes. Each vehicle transits the Fremont Bridge twice. Each vehicle will also cross the B-G twice. Allowing these amphibious assault vehicles to drive through a highly used recreational area is ridiculous. So many potential disasters to cyclists and pedestrians present themselves; I don’t know where to begin.