- i can only speak about london duck tours of which i have some experience.... but i think the owners /operators have heavily upgraded these machines, the london vessels have all been re engined with upto date modern isuzu diesels for both efficiency and to comply with particulate emissions, - having been a passenger on one of these vessels (several times) the crew are very competent, with a driver for the on road part of the journey and changing to a maritime ' master' at the wet section of the journey- the safety breifing as you set off is comprehensive and better that the one you get on a standard thames tourist trip boat....probably due to the unusual nature of the vessel.... however if the passengers on the duckw are from overseas i wounder how much of the briefing got through ?
i would n't say they're death traps,- they're old, yes.... however these are useable 'classiscs' and needed to be treated as such...
they are more than adequate to cope with london traffic on road and my experience of these vessels in water are also positive... they cope with the tidal thames, - there is not a huge amount of freeboard i grant you that, but they have radio comms with HQ and a passenger log is done before setting off , a qualified master is at the helm and in addition you have a steward aboard at all times, vessel has passenger floatation devices, lifejackets and the required safety gear... the fact the sides are open with just canvas roll down sides means method of escape is easier than in a 'glazed vessel'
dont write them off as a death trap- they are a valid tourist attraction in london and abit of floating/ driving history
i wont specualte as to what is the cause -and i have no idea what went on in liverpool, but just glad no one was hurt or killed in londons recent event...
