April 29, 2022
Legislation Partially Addresses Fatal “Duck Boat” Accidents
Amphibious passenger vehicles (APVs), widely known as
storm, waves were reportedly 3-5 feet high, and winds
“duck boats,” are tourist vehicles designed to drive on roads
gusted as high as 73 miles per hour. The accident highlights
and operate as boats in water. Several fatal accidents have
gaps and discrepancies in federal safety regulations
drawn attention to potential shortcomings in regulation of
affecting APVs.
these unique vehicles (also known while afloat as
“vessels”), which are subject to oversight by multiple
In September 2015, an APV was involved in a crash with a
federal and state agencies. Legislation passed in the House
commercial bus on a bridge in Seattle, killing five
and pending in the Senate would bring tighter regulation of
passengers and injuring 60. In addition, APV accidents
duck boats while afloat but does not address
occurred in Boston in 2016, in Philadelphia in 2010, and in
recommendations intended to increase their safety while
Seattle in 2001. An APV sinking in Arkansas in 1999
operating on the road.
caused 13 fatalities.
Duck boats host thousands of tours for more than one
Regulatory Gaps
million passengers annually. About 200 such vehicles
These unique vehicles answer to several regulators.
operate domestically. The original vehicles, referred to as
Because they operate in the open water of harbors and
DUKW, were built during World War II to deliver cargo
rivers, APVs are considered small passenger vessels, and
from ships at sea directly to the shore and often to evacuate
the U.S. Coast Guard must inspect them for seaworthiness
injured military personnel. The name DUKW, which
and certify the drivers as vessel captains. Since APVs also
became “duck” over time, is from military terminology—D
carry passengers on land, they are subject to federal
refers to the year designed (1942); U refers to utility; K to
commercial vehicle regulations enforced by the Federal
all-wheel drive powertrain; and W to dual-powered rear
Motor Carrier Safety Administration. State agencies
axles.
typically conduct commercial vehicle inspections, and state
officials must certify drivers as commercial vehicle drivers.
Some of the vehicles in use today have been refurbished,
Because they were rebuilt for commercial service as motor
and others were built more recently. Many duck boats are
vehicles, APVs also must comply with certain federal
operated under a license from the private company Ride the
standards established by the National Highway Traffic
Ducks International (RTDI), but others may be operated
Safety Administration (NHTSA).
independently.
After investigating the 1999 APV sinking in Arkansas, the
Figure 1. Amphibious Passenger Vehicle
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an
Vessel that sank in Branson, MO
independent federal agency, called for changes to canopies
and vehicle buoyancy. Those changes have yet to be
implemented. After both the 2015 crash (Seattle) and the
2018 sinking (Branson), NTSB issued accident reports with
recommendations to enhance the safe operation of APVs.
NTSB made the following recommendations:
NHTSA should classify all APVs as non-over-the-road
buses and make newly manufactured APVs subject to
applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards;
NHTSA should separately adopt Coast Guard rules
about cargo loads and passenger seating limits;
The Coast Guard should ensure that APV operators
instruct passengers not to wear seat belts when the
Source: National Transportation Safety Board, at
vehicle is operated in water;
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/DCA18MM028.aspx.
Note: Vehicle after being recovered from Table Rock Lake, MO.
The Coast Guard should ensure that APV forward
Fatal Accidents
hatches are closed when the vehicles are in water to
prevent swamping, revise its regulations to address
APVs have been involved in a number of accidents. In July
operations under imminent severe weather, and stipulate
2018, an APV capsized during a severe thunderstorm—
emergency evacuation procedures should an APV begin
forecast by the National Weather Service—on a lake in
to sink.
Branson, MO, killing 17 of 31 persons aboard. During the
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Legislation Partially Addresses Fatal “Duck Boat” Accidents
The NTSB report also had specific recommendations for
occurs unexpectedly, operators would be directed to
RTDI after finding that it had failed to fully address known
proceed to the nearest harbor or safe refuge.
mechanical defects that resulted in the 2015 crash.
The Coast Guard would be directed to require that APV
In 2020, the Coast Guard requested guidance from the
operators inform passengers that seat belts should not be
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
worn during waterborne operations, so they could more
Medicine and the Transportation Research Board on how to
easily vacate the vehicle if it were to take on water. Crew
improve APV safety. Authorities in the fields of vehicle
members would be required to check each passenger before
design and safety, engineering, and shipbuilding were
waterborne departure to ensure that all seat belts—
appointed to review incidents. They consulted with several
necessary for APV travel on roadways—are unbuckled.
APV operators and the Passenger Vessel Association and
H.R. 6865 also would require annual training for APV
issued their report in 2021. The National Academies
operators and crew.
recommended that the Coast Guard
Interim Requirements
issue regulations to reduce APV flooding and increase
For APV operators who are not in compliance with the new
passenger survivability;
regulations issued within two years of enactment, H.R.
6865 would set “interim requirements” to guide Coast
develop procedures and training for APV workers to
Guard oversight. APV operators who are not in compliance
evaluate and act on severe weather alerts; and
with the new rules would be required to remove roof
canopies and window coverings to permit escape by
require boat canopies to be removed in higher-risk
passengers. All passengers on such vehicles would be
operations and mandate that all passengers wear life
required to wear personal flotation devices when the APV
jackets while APVs are in water.
is waterborne. In addition, vehicles would have to be
improved to reduce through-hull penetrations that could
Legislative Remedies
permit water to enter the passenger cabin and be equipped
The 116th Congress considered legislation to improve Coast
with alarms and underwater lighting during emergencies.
Guard regulation of APVs, with the Senate passing S. 1031,
the Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act of 2020, in
Additional Congressional Policy Interests
December 2020. Similar legislation, S. 62, has been
After the 2015 APV crash on a bridge in Seattle, NTSB
introduced in the 117th Congress. On March 29, 2022, the
called for three new NHTSA rules that the agency has not
House passed legislation reported by the Committee on
adopted, according to NTSB. NTSB recommended that
Transportation and Infrastructure—H.R. 6865, the Don
NHTSA (a) adopt the Coast Guard’s assumed per-person
Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022—which
average weight, affecting axle designs for cargo loads and
includes new requirements for the Coast Guard’s regulation
passenger seating, (b) classify all APVs as non-over-the-
of APVs.
road buses, and (c) ensure that all new APVs meet all
federal motor vehicle safety standards at the time of their
Changes in Construction and Procedures
manufacture.
If enacted, the new rules in H.R. 6865 would require APVs
to provide a reserve buoyancy that would keep the vehicles
As its focus is the Coast Guard, H.R. 6865 does not address
upright and afloat if the passenger compartment were
these NTSB recommendations concerning APV operations
flooded. The passenger cabins could be watertight or have
on land.
other means of built-in flotation. This requirement would
take effect two years after enactment.
Bill Canis, Specialist in Industrial Organization and
Business
Before embarking, APV operators would be required to
record National Weather Service forecasts in their logbooks
IF12088
and denote changes in the weather while underway. In
instances when severe weather—especially high wind—
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Legislation Partially Addresses Fatal “Duck Boat” Accidents
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