Maybe common sense but the comparison to cell phone use might not be helpful. "Narrating" is not quite equivalent to talking on a mobile phone, because there is no remote person on the other end of the conversation. (BTW, is the narration hands free? Hands-free mobile phone use while driving is still legal in WA.) Still, narrating seems like a distraction, and the stakes are higher than they would be in an ordinary car.

Last month, The Stranger posted a photo I took of a Ride the Duck boat blocking the 3rd Avenue bus corridor. I sent the same photo to Ride the Ducks Seattle. They never responded. Hearing CEO Jim Tracey now state that "the safety of our passengers and those we share the road with remains our highest priority" makes me sick.

How about you just require that these commercial tour vehicles have proper-height crash bumpers when operating on Seattle city streets rather than let them skirt those regulations because they're custom and from an original 1945 design (where they didn't operate on city streets).

@1 I've ridden once. They do more than narrate. there is q&a from a whole busload of people. They try to engage the passengers interactively, and they are changing hats and playing different music to coordinate with different sights. Way more than just talking on the phone.

My memory from taking one of those tours years ago with visiting relatives was that there was a driver plus a guide. False memory, or did they change that to save money?

Geez, a reccommended axil repair is far easier to remember than, let's say, an oil change.

A separate narrator would've stopped this from happening... how?

I never thought of finds self defending ducks, but this goes overboard. Nanny State for the win.

@8, even (maybe even especially) in the event of a mechanical failure, you need to have your full attention devoted to driving the vehicle so you can maintain control as much as possible. If it takes your brain a second longer to register that a wheel fell off, that could have been enough time to hold it steady and avert a bad collision.

Unless the mics are handheld, how is narrating like talking on a cell phone while driving?

#3, I agree. Front bumpers are the main issue. If the duck had a bumper, it would have not impacted the bus high up, or other cars or motorcycles. Also need bumpers to impact safety barriers down low. Without one, the duck's angled steel hull is the perfect device to launch it over any barrier into oncoming traffic or over a drop. Second issue is sight lines for the driver, how much blind space in front of the duck.

Last issue is safety of the Aurora bridge. Substandard lane width is a big safety issue, combined with speed. Should be reduced to five lanes, remove an exit at one of the ends, put in a center divider, better paint and safety markings.

I also remember a narrator + a driver when I rode it. 10 years ago maybe. Also I was horrified by how unbelievably cheesy the experience was.

I just don't see how adding another clown to the clown car is going to solve the issue. Better to add another wrench to the shop!

I have many years of tour guiding experience but not on ducks. I always respect the fact that I have many people's lives in my hands. It often seems I am the only person actually driving and paying attention to the road. Even while narrating,

We inspect the buses during "pre-trip" but eventually rely on machanics and engineers for the safety of the fleet.

I do like #3 idea of a safety bumper at normal height to give another vehicle a chance in a possible crash.

According to sfgate.com, it's ok to use a hands free phone in SF while driving if you're 18 or over, so not sure where Supervisor Yee is coming from here.

I don't think adding another clown to the car will fix the issue. Try another wrench in the shop.

If the lack of an appropriate front bumper is an issue, then I doubt that the Ducks can be modified to be safe both on the road AND in the water.

Adding an appropriate bumper might make them a bit more safe on the road (and that's a big maybe) but that same bumper would almost certainly impact their 'seaworthiness' - imagine a boat with a front bumper below the waterline!!!

Ducks were never designed with safety in mind - they were WWII 2-1/2 ton cargo trucks retrofitted to be amphibious, intended to operate in a combat environment where deaths were expected. Nothing can change that.

You people do realize that this isn't an either/or situation, right? Tour buses shouldn't have a combined narrator and driver. The buses should be regularly inspected. Both of these improve safety.

There is an over-arching theme here: the lust for profits over safety. Ride the Duck doesn't have to play an extra employee per ride, and it skimps on maintenance. Now, this flies in the face of the righteous right-wing, who worship profit above all, and regulations are from the Stalinist Devil. If you believe in de-regulation, then let's see you smile that the industry wasn't burdened with keeping people safe. Just don't shake your head over the tragedy, you fucks, because we know you don't fucking care.

@18: It's not the "righteous right-wing" as the "righteous left-wing" has controlled the city's politics for decades.

@16 You keep saying this, but it's still fucking stupid. Your analogy is terrible (different wrenches have different uses!) and you won't address the fact that drivers who have to play party host to a bunch of people are obviously distracted!

Come on, this shit isn't that difficult.

"Regulate, Regulate, Regulate", the liturgy of the state-worshiping progressive.

I thought this was an interesting angle to the Duck story when I read it last week in the Weekly.

@18: "You people do realize that this isn't an either/or situation, right? Tour buses shouldn't have a combined narrator and driver. The buses should be regularly inspected. Both of these improve safety. "

I don't know what it has been this week, but I've been bombarded with people who claim that because one action doesn't solve every problem forever that it's best to do nothing about any problem. On a myriad of topics, it's weird to see people reflexively shilling for the status quo while receiving no benefits but smugness in return.

""Regulate, Regulate, Regulate", the liturgy of the state-worshiping progressive."

Wear no seatbelts, no safety regulations, the mantra of the piercingly-stupid conservative.