Breeze, Ill. — A Breeze, Illinois, vehicle inspector and appraiser was called by Ripley Entertainment, the owners of ‘Ride the Ducks’ Duck Boats in August 2017 to assess whether the vehicles would pass Department of Transportation requirements.
Steven Paul said he conducted a visual inspection of the vehicles. He was looking for standard things like cracks to the water-tight seals. The vehicles, he said, were test driven on land to make sure they were road-worthy.
“Couple of things I noted right off the bat was the exhaust was forward of the passenger compartment,” explained Paul. “The exhaust on the ducks actually comes out the very front of the boat and it also comes out below the water line.”
Paul’s main suggestion was a redesign of the exhaust. He explained that the Department of Transportation requires that the exhaust be placed behind the area where passengers sit.
The problem when the exhaust is below the water, is that water can get caught in the exhaust and the duck boat can lose engine power. Paul also found that there was no rear bumper on the ducks, which is required by the Department of Transportation.
"I can’t say what the condition of the ducks are here today, obviously. But I can say that, when I submitted my report from them, I didn’t get any feedback,” said Paul. “It was pretty much, 'Thanks for your report, here's your payment.'"
It is important to note, though, that the Department of Transportation does not regulate duck boats in the State of Missouri. The U.S. Coast is in charge in Missouri, and it did give the ‘Ride the Ducks’ duck boats the ‘okay’.
Paul told 5 On Your Side that he would like to see the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard combine their efforts for more consistent supervision on the water.
“If there's one thing that I hope comes out of this accident, the terrible tragedy, is that the two regulators come together,” he said.
The Coast Guard said the boat will be lifted from the water Monday morning.
