Offshoreonly.com - Mandatory Kill Switch Use- anybody else see this??

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The Mercury kill switch lanyards are junk. They stretch out, drip red dye when they get wet, just garbage.

PWC lanyards are plastic and come in every color under the sun. Just cut the plastic PWC pieces off, and use the loop of the lanyard in your kill switch. I literally used the same one for 13 seasons in Monsoon.
I never wore a wristband, hated them; as they mess up your tan.
I always clipped the lanyard to the bottom of my shorts leg opening, which kept everything way out of my way.

Only problem is, there was the very slim risk that I could have been ejected out of the boat AND my shorts, and my boat was heading off into the sunset waving my shorts out of the cockpit as a sayonara.

https://www.ganderoutdoors.com/dw/im...sh=1000&sm=fit

Could go with Autotether, Fell Marine or ACR Olas

Only guys with step bottoms need lanyards , us straight bottom bottom guys can turn on a dime and keep control and the cat guys well those things just become airplanes so maybe they need a law to drag an anchor the whole time.
:bunnydance:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sydwayz (Post 4773086)

I have no issue with it. And I do see it as hard to enforce actual usage. But you better have it on the boat. It's kind of like if you happen to have an open beer near the driver's bolster and you get pulled over and boarded. As it's starting, you slide the beer over to a passenger. And you clip your lanyard on IF you don't have it on already. But once you are on plane, there is no reason for the driver/throttleman NOT to have it on.

I think if this does come into law; it's primarily going to be used to be enforced after an incident which a kill switch could have prevented property damage, injury, and/or death, to show the operator of the boat showed negligence in operation for not using the kill switch.

I think that last bit is the key, it is all about if you end up causing an issue, and whether you were negligent or not. Any one of us might be the victim of someone else's stupid human trick, so this is to me a positive thing.
-j

There's more to just attaching it, make sure when pulled the engine/engines shut off..............I had a boat years ago that the switch malfunctioned had to replace it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sydwayz (Post 4773857)

I never wore a wristband, hated them; as they mess up your tan.

LOL, down here most of the time I have a long sleeve shirt on anyway, not worried about the tan but I like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by F-2 Speedy (Post 4773893)

There's more to just attaching it, make sure when pulled the engine/engines shut off..............I had a boat years ago that the switch malfunctioned had to replace it.

Mine gets inadvertently tested at least once a year! I clip it to the pocket or waistband of my shorts. I use it always! Getting ejected would be bad enough but to watch your boat head off into the horizon without you in it would be a real nightmare.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sydwayz (Post 4773100)

I get where you are coming from, but it's not about ONLY your safety. It saves lives, yours, and others, just like seatbelts in cars; which has been law in all 50 states and beyond for years. Motorcycle mandatory helmet laws are really the only mandatory safety devices for YOUR protection, and no one else.

Boats, are really the only major vehicle category where an operator could become disabled, dislodged, or ejected, and the throttle still stays applied.
Such has been known to hurt, maim, and kill may people as a secondary incident.

Pardon the tangent, but follow along:
In theory, even you wearing your seatbelt in your car save my life; (just like the lanyard).
1) It prevents you from being ejected out of your vehicle and becoming a projectile. A projectile that could cause bodily harm or more.
2) It prevents you from becoming "something" I have to avoid with evasive action with my vehicle, after you've been ejected.
3) It could provide you the security to regain control and avoid a secondary impact (with my vehicle), if you have your seatbelt on, and stay conscious behind the controls (instead of displaced), you could potentially apply braking or steering inputs to avoid a secondary incident.

Using the kill switch lanyard is just common sense. Unfortunately not everyone does and then we have an avoidable tragedy that can affect others! Laws are not always some plot by the "Deep State" to control us just for the sake of controlling us!

Quote:

Originally Posted by CH1P (Post 4781143)

:headscratch: Is MI sorta similar to NE
CH1P

Your last two posts are puzzling.:bong::cool-smiley-027::food-smiley-009::confused:

I can tell you from my experience, this is something we all should be doing anyway. I was once running at a very modest speed, about 55mph with a friend in the boat with me. We were enjoying a morning run even though the lake was a bit choppy. I had the drives and tabs down a bit to keep the ride smooth. A large rouge wave hooked the bow and threw us both to the floor. Neither of us saw this wave. I had my lanyard on. Had I not, Im not sure I could have regained control of the boat easily. If I had been knocked unconscious, Im pretty sure my passenger would not have been able to quickly react as he was not familiar with high performance boating. It is just a bit of common sense really. So I use them all the time. Just seems like common sense.