Dead mans driver switch

Does anyone still use them? Mine was bypassed when I bought the boat, just curious if people use them.

Yes, when the water's rough or sometimes other conditions.

Get on offshoreonly and read some stories about the powerboat accidents. Lots of stories about people getting bounced out of their boats, and the boat keeps going and collides with another boat.

Also there is this thing called "The Circle of Death." I think that is more common in little fishing boats. My boat has one but it has never been used.

had a situation on the river I grew up on way before my time where a guy liked driving sitting on the side of the boat. He fell in and the "circle of death" started. He sucessfully ducked the first several and another boat literally rammed the boat to get the circle to stop.

the moral of the story is a dead man's switch will save you, but there are situations where you wouldn't even need it if you weren't sh**faced drunk and sitting on the side of the boat.

I normally drive with my hand on the throttle in case something happenes. I have personally been in a boat where the steering cable broke (early 80s MC)and it went into a power turn. The driver had his hand on the throttle and got of the gas as it happened. Other than the steering cable breaking, I could not imagine a situation on my rivers that I would ever need a kill switch.

I some of the older boats I've drove if you let go of the steering wheel it will automaticly turn all the way in one direction. Not good if you fall out.

I don't even have one.

We had an incident with the "Circle of Death" at our canal. A father with his seven year old daughter in a small I/O. The father was pushing the trottle standing behind the steering at the end of the No-Wake-Zone and feel over board. His seven year old daughter still sitting in the boat the boat started circling around the father.
I was just getting ready to ride when we saw how the boat started circling.
We managed to get the father out of the water but we didn't dare to ramm the boat because of the girl still sitting in it.
So we threw in our ropes hoping to get them into the prop and kill the engine. The prop killed two of our ropes but wouldn't stop.
So we tried to push the boat in his circles to the shore and get the prop killed on the rocks.
Luckily that worked pretty well, killed the prop and got the boat to stop at the shore. With a lot of luck no one got hurt. Yet that poor little girl was screaming her hart out the whole time, won't forget it.

I always wear mine. Doesn't matter if I'm just taking a two minute ride to the ramp or the cove, its on. Ya just never know.

I normally drive with my hand on the throttle in case something happenes


I was bounced out of the drivers seat of my Baja 24' H2X about 4 years ago. The switch wasn't hooked to me, my hand was on the throttle, and the water looked smooth. No other boats in sight except for my friend 30 yards back in the same type of boat. I had 1 passenger. That boat was heavy in the transom because of the 454 Mercruiser. Out of nowhere I hit some waves. They were pretty small, but the boat was traveling at 65mph and it was just fast enough to get right in on the 3rd. wave. The bow went straight up in the air, I came out of the drivers seat, flopped across the boat, hit the back of my head on the top deck of the port side, then fell back in the floorboard. I was paralyzed from the neck down for about 10 minutes. I could see everything, but not move. Luckily my passenger only bumped his elbow and could move. He shut the boat down just before we got any closer to the rocks on the bank 20 yards away. I scraped half the skin off of my back from the radio cover and then bled all over the carpet. My friend in the other boat said he saw the prop. This just goes to show you that things can happen so quickly, you don't have time to react. I've had the switch clipped on me from then on.

^^wow, quite the experience eh

I'm reminded of it everyday with this scar on my back.... How lucky could I have been if my friend in the passenger seat wasn't there or was hurt? We both could've possibly been killed.

Wow, I've never used mine and always thought it was just a stupid law. Reading this, I might start using it.

John you are very lucky guy!I've also heard of those stories too wear a fisherman falls out of the boat and the boat goes in a circle (Circle of Death) I talked to a Fisherman that had this happen and he said he fell out of the boat and the boat was going around him but everytime it came around to him he went underneath the boat. he would hit the boat and could hear the engine go right by his head. He told me a family saw him and ran there own boat into his to save him! Makes everyone think about wearing one now! Glad you and your friend are ok! I'll be wearing mine this year No Doubt!

Once (like 13yrs old) we wakeboarded behind a teeny johnboat. My buddy cut hard and the boat tipped wayyyy up to one side and threw me out. Circle of death. He grabbed the wake handle to drag and slow the boat. I grabbed the gunnel and hit the kill switch which didn't have a wrist lanyard. My feet were inches from the prop.

LOL do we need a "Boating Near Death Experiences" thread?

Go to Wal-Mart and get one of those rubber bracelets, then clip it onto the switch. When you go to put the boat in forward, just slide the bracelet on your wrist. No need to clip it to your clothes... It's that easy.

^^yeah I think I'm gonna get one of those..the circle of death sounds pretty...well...deadly.

Everyone needs to watch this video.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG5-Go1HH7Q