Message to New Propeller Safety Advocates |
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This page provides guidance for victims, surviving family members, and friends that are considering becoming propeller safety advocates. It is part of the Propeller Guard Information Center.
Some advocates immediately elect to "Go With Guards." They quickly launch a campaign to put guards on every boat in their state or every boat in the United States. While we empathize with your situation and appreciate your passion for change, we suggest you spend a some time studying the situation and efforts of others who have gone through your experiences so you can channel your efforts most effectively.
We encourage you to immediately do six things:
Once things become less hectic, we encourage you to review the history of the problem and the efforts of others. The the timeline provided by Stop Propeller Injuries Now! (SPIN) is a nice place to start.
This is also a good time to learn about state boating safety resources, like your state Boating Law Administrator (BLA) and your state boating education officer. They are often looking for "victims" to present radio spots, show up for legislative arguments, etc. Identify them (see BLA link provided earlier), introduce yourself, and tell them of your interest in propeller safety.
Propeller Safety Advocacy can take a number of forms. Basic branches of the advocacy tree are:
The advocacy tree is further developed below.
Propeller Safety Advocacy Tree
Some propeller safety advocates pick more than one activity above, some jump between activities from time to time. These same types of activities surround other grass root safety campaigns. You can read about them in our General Survivor Advocacy Links.
Many victims and their families are not aware that countless other families have faced similar situations. You can support one another, and learn from each others propeller safety advocacy efforts.
One way to learn about the efforts of others is to visit some of the sites on our Propeller Safety Advocates and Sites of the Injured list.
We especially encourage you to visit SPIN (Stop Propeller Injuries Now!). The current director, Marion IrvingdeCruz, seeks to maintain a network of families, just like yours, to support one another.
Promoting the use of propeller guards on ALL boats will prove to be an impossible task for your family. While guards can provide excellent protection in some situations, they also come with certain disadvantages in others. Our site has a lengthy list of objections raised to propeller guards.
While families of many injured by propellers quickly latch onto the use of propeller guards in all applications, you will not be able to convince the legislatures over objections from the "other side", especially not on faster boats. There are certain slower boats where regulations might successfully be passed such as houseboats, nonplaning pontoon boats, rescue boats, dive boats, training boats (used with sail boats or swimmers in the water), and boats with small outboard motors. In fact, the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) is currently developing a propeller guard test protocol at various speeds under a grant from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Other propeller injury avoidance devices are applicable to faster moving boats. Among them are lanyard kill switches, swim ladder interlock systems that prevent the engine from starting if the swim ladder is down, small wearable tags that kill the engine or prevent its starting if you are in the water wearing one of them, and wireless lanyards. You will have a much greater possibility for success promoting their use on faster moving boats than guards.
We are NOT saying guards cannot be used on faster boats, we are just saying you will not be successful in legislating their use.
Initially, after an accident, the family often speaks out about their concern for their loved one and their desire that others not have to go through the same situation. This is a very broad message. It resonates with thousands of people that read or view your comments. Do not underestimate the appeal of your message at this time. Your love and passion will come through and cause many to be a little safer around propellers for a while.
If your loved one is in the hospital for long periods of time, the press may do some followup visits checking on their progress. This is another great opportunity to get out your message.
Local propeller accidents are like vaccinations. They temporarily "vaccinate" area boaters with a "perceived vulnerability" to propeller injuries. This makes them more vigilant for a while. Just like everybody looks both ways at railroad crossing for several months after a local train-car collision. Your message can help prevent others from being struck by propellers by making them more vigilant and by encouraging them to employ appropriate safety devices.
As time goes by, your platform will be gone. The news will move on and it will be more difficult for you to get on the airwaves and in the press. Now you can turn to more targeted messages surrounding the particular types of boats or behaviors surrounding your accident. You can educate others how to avoid the specific kind of propeller accident you or your loved one was involved in (tubing, ejection from the boat, small outboards, houseboats, snorkeling, diving, swimming, etc.). A targeted message is much more likely to be distributed and read months after your accident than a broad one.
You can get your targeted messages out by writing articles for publications read by the people at risk, through web sites, Facebook, YouTube, T-shirts, bumper stickers, pins, flyers, and countless other ways. You might want to spend some time studying how "Save the Whales", "Safe Kids", Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), and other similar groups get their message out.
You will be more likely to be successful with a targeted message. It is more likely to be seen by the people most at risk to your specific type of accident.
Some advocates begin to formulate a series of steps or messages to complete a broader strategy. For example you could start very locally trying to get specific groups in your town to employ certain safety devices then begin to gradually expand to other communities building upon your local success. Small successes can keep you energized as you continue to work toward broader goals.
If enough legal cases are won or settled against the boat manufacturers and drive companies, they will begin to address propeller safety issues. Winning cases against them is a form of advocacy.
This page is NOT professional legal advice AND NOT an effort to encourage you to sue the industry. Many factors often make it very difficult to win a propeller guarding case. Those factors include:
Some of the challenges of a propeller trial can be anticipated by reading our comments on Naples Daily News coverage of the 2009 Decker vs. OMC trial
We encourage anyone considering legal action to visit with their family lawyer, and then consider visiting with a firm that has previously represented others injured by propellers. Local family lawyers may be very capable of representing victims against those accused of negligence or recklessness in operating a boat. However, a full propeller guard case is better handled by a firm with considerable product liability experience, and optimally by a firm with previous experience in propeller cases. The opposition has spent many millions of dollars over the last thirty years developing a highly polished, professional defense. You will need an expert legal team.
Many efforts to require the use of propeller guards have failed in the past. They can be originated with state legislatures, Congress, or with the U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard (USCG). USCG proposed boating safety regulations often begin at National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC).
Before you get your hopes up, you might want to view the timeline posted by SPIN. We are not trying to discourage you. We are just trying to make sure you know the road will not be easy.
As for ourselves, we have spent much of the last two years (late 2007 thru mid 2009) analyzing the Coast Guard's rejection of a proposed propeller safety regulation for houseboats. If you intend to promote laws and regulations requiring propeller safety devices on boats, we strongly encourage you to read our report. It is currently published as a rough draft on our Response to Withdrawal page.
We encourage you to spend considerable time educating yourself about propeller accidents. Our Propeller Guard Information Center is the leading online information source for technical information about propeller injuries.
SPIN is the leading site for advocates to assist one another, and to further the cause through organized efforts with others. We strongly encourage you to contact SPIN and visit with them directly.
There is a tremendous amount of information on propeller accidents and their prevention. Do not get lost in it. Just keep reading and learning as you get involved in the cause of reducing the frequency and severity of boat propeller accidents.