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Comment by ruph123 | Hacker News Reader

I am no boat person at all but would it not make sense to have keys that only allow you to drive the boat if you are close by like in modern cars? And when you fall off, it just stops a few meters away from you. I know these small boats are probably more simple and the transponders would need to be water proof, etc. but the benefit could be huge.

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Boats small enough to be operated by a single person are required by law (I believe) to be fitted with a kill switch that is supposed to be clipped onto the operator. In the event they go overboard, the engine shuts off.

Of course in practice almost nobody actually uses these.

> Of course in practice almost nobody actually uses these.

The damn government can’t tell me what to do.

Sigh, I see plenty of people driving with the seatbelt behind them, which means they make the choice to ignore the advice. Imagine having to take action without being constantly told to.

As other comments have mentioned, we’re dumb.

Some deliberately do it out of principle, despite knowing it's dumb. I have a family member who refuses to wear his seat belt simply because the government shouldn't tell him what to do. He knows it's safer, and knows that he'll get a ticket if he's pulled over, but won't do it, purely out of this weird, dogmatic anti-authority.

In the field of aviation, they study aeronautical decision making (ADM), and hazardous attitudes that prevent good decision making. The FAA identified the so-called 5 Hazardous Attitudes[1], and number one on the list is "Anti-authority". I wouldn't be surprised if this attitude is causal of accidents and negligence in other activities like boating and driving.

1: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/1999/september/...

Given how the country was essentially founded by "anti-authority" and still somewhat values freedom highly, it's not so surprising. IMHO it's not a bad thing as long as it's done in moderation.

>... plenty of people driving with the seatbelt behind them ...

There is a gadget which had some diffusion here (the manufacturer explicitly states that it is not tested/approved and actually prohibited for human use, but we all know how it is used in real life), tellingly called "Zitto" (would translate to "shut-up"):

https://www.lampa.it/it/articoli/72397-zitto-2-extension?gr=...

They have wireless lanyards to do just that. But, currents and wind pressure are just as likely to push the boat away from you faster than you can swim if you're overboard.

That's basically useless if there's any significant wind.

You won't be able to catch up to a drifting boat and board it (the latter is quite a challenge in itself).

edit: just not go alone.

Could be a good idea for small boats in some cases. Jet skis do tend to have kill switch tethers.

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