The tragic drowning of at least 11 people in Missouri on Thursday is not the first accident involving duck boats.
Since 1999, at least 36 people have died in several fatal incidents on both land and in water involving the vehicles.
The most recent crash before the Ride the Ducks disaster in Table Rock Lake was in Seattle in 2015.
Five college students were killed when an amphibious vehicle – owned and operated by Ride the Ducks – collided with a motor coach on September 24.
Five college students were killed when an amphibious vehicle – owned and operated by Ride the Ducks – collided with a motor coach on September 24
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration determined the front axle on the Seattle duck boat broke, causing the driver to lose control
There were also 69 people injured in the horrific crash on Aurora Bridge. The manufacturer agreed to pay up to $1 million after NHTSA said it violated federal laws when it failed to notify regulators of a safety defect in the axle and did not issue a full recall
There were also 69 people injured in the horrific crash on Aurora Bridge.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration determined the front axle on the Seattle duck boat broke, causing the driver to lose control.
The manufacturer agreed to pay up to $1 million after NHTSA said it violated federal laws when it failed to notify regulators of a safety defect in the axle and did not issue a full recall.
In 1999, 13 people were killed after duck boat Miss Majestic sank in Lake Hamilton, Arkansas, near Hot Springs.
Safety have advocates sought improvements to the amphibious vehicles since the Arkansas incident.
But three years later, in June 2002, there was another fatal incident involving a duck boat.
In April 2015, a duck boat killed Allison Warmuth, 28, in Boston after it collided with her motor scooter. Pictured: The scene after the crash
Four people died – including a mother and two children – when the Lady Duck capsized and sank in the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital.
In July 2010, two Hungarian students died when a duck boat was struck by a tug on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
The operator of the Philadelphia duck boat tours suspended operations indefinitely in October, citing a 330 per cent increase in its insurance premiums.
Attorney Robert J. Mongeluzzi, who helped the families of the victims win a $17 million payout, told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2016: ‘If there is any question about why their insurance rates have increased, it is because they continue to kill people.
‘This history of death goes back decades, starting with Miss Majestic in Arkansas, where 13 drowned in 1999.’
He said the vehicles are not built to a safe standard, adding: ‘They are death traps, and the insurance rates accurately capture the danger.’
In April 2015, a duck boat killed Allison Warmuth, 28, in Boston after it collided with her motor scooter.
‘We believe that duck boats in their current design should be banned,’ Ivan Warmuth, her father, later said.
As a result of that incident, duck boat operators were forced to separate their responsibilities as both driver and tour guide – and blind spot cameras and proximity sensors became required.
Elizabeth Karnicki, 68, of Beaumont, Texas was struck and killed by a tourist duck boat in Philadelphia
The 68-year-old was walking with her husband against a traffic light when she was struck by the boat
An aerial shot shows the scene in Chinatown, downtown Philadelphia, after the accident
Just a month later, in May 2015, a duck boat killed a woman who was crossing the street in Philadelphia.
Duck boats were originally used by the US military in World War II to transport troops and supplies over land and water, most famously during the invasion of Normandy in 1944.
They were later modified for use as sightseeing vehicles.
There are now about 130 duck boats operating in more than a dozen US cities, including Boston, Seattle, Miami, San Diego, Honolulu and Washington.
Critics say the 2½-ton amphibious passenger vehicles are inherently dangerous because their design creates numerous blind spots for drivers, who sit 10 to 12 feet behind the bow, making it difficult to see directly below and in front of them.
Shocking video shows the boat in Missouri on Thursday being lashed by strong, massive waves for about five minutes before becoming submerged in the lake
Allison Warmuth’s parents have pushed the industry to adopt new safety measures. They successfully lobbied for a Massachusetts law that requires duck boats to have blind spot cameras and proximity sensors. The new law also requires a second employee – separate from the driver – to narrate the tours.
Kevan Moniri, who was on the scooter with Warmuth, recalls seeing the duck boat accelerate behind them when a light turned green, then realizing the driver did not see them. Video examined by the National Transportation Safety Board showed the driver taking his eyes off the road and turning in his seat to point out landmarks during the tour.
‘I hear again and again from Boston Duck Tours and any of these other companies that safety is their No. 1 priority, and if that’s the case, you can’t argue that the safest way to operate the vehicles is for the driver to also be giving the tour,’ Moniri said.
Ten weeks after Warmuth was killed, a New Jersey woman was struck and seriously injured by a duck boat at another Boston intersection.