Washington state seeks duck boat limits

SEATTLE – Washington state regulators investigating the Ride the Ducks tour company after a deadly crash on a Seattle bridge identified 442 violations in an overall review of operations and recommended penalties.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission also said the company should be allowed to resume operating a limited fleet of amphibious vehicles under certain conditions.

Ride the Ducks was shut down after one of its amphibious vehicles, a repurposed military “duck boat,” collided with a bus on the Aurora Bridge on Sept. 24. The crash killed five North Seattle College international students.

Authorities have been looking into whether axle failure caused the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board has said it could take a year to determine the cause.

A three-member commission will determine at a hearing Monday whether Ride the Ducks can resume operations. The panel could fine the company as much as $1,000 per violation. The majority of the violations were related to record-keeping.

Regulators proposed issuing an unsatisfactory safety rating for the company, based on one acute and six critical violations following the overall review of operations. They said one driver drove 11 times without a valid commercial driver’s license and the company didn’t do enough random drug tests.

Regulators recommended the company be allowed to operate 10 “Truck-Duck” vehicles, which are different than the vehicle involved in the crash.

A specialist hired by the company is evaluating the other eight “Stretch Duck” vehicles. Regulators want the commission to have the results of that evaluation before it decides to allow those vehicles to operate.

Regulators also found 131 violations of critical regulations and 304 violations related to record-keeping. The company must correct the violations in 45 days or be shut down.

Ride the Ducks founder and CEO Brian Tracey said in an emailed statement Tuesday that he anticipated minor issues would be found through the investigation.

“While the total number of issues they have identified appears large, it is important to note that the vast majority of the findings deal with record keeping issues – many of which we have already corrected,” Tracey said.

“When we meet with the UTC on Dec. 21, we will demonstrate our plans to meet all of their conditions within the time frame they’ve set.”

The company has said it will no longer use the Aurora Bridge and future tours will include two employees.