

I met Martha and Ivan Warmuth last summer outside a street safety meeting at the Boston Public Library. Becca Wolfson, the Executive Director of the Boston Cyclists Union, introduced them to me as the parents of the young woman who had been killed recently by a duck boat in Boston.

They came to my office a few days later and talked about what had happened – how their daughter Allison was doing nothing wrong, how she had been stopped on her scooter at a red light on a beautiful sunny day, and how a duck boat had come up behind her and struck and killed her when the light turned green. They explained that she had tried to get out of the way but just couldn’t move fast enough.

I learned that they had three daughters roughly the same ages as my three daughters. Allison, their middle daughter, was in her mid-twenties and off to a great start. They brought a picture.

They explained how dangerous the duck boats are – with their long bows, they have a huge blind spot in front of them. They brought graphics illustrating just how hard it is for a duck boat driver to see ahead of them. They explained how the drivers often divide their attention between entertaining the tourists and paying attention to the road. They awed me with their composure as they explained the tragedy in detail that took my own composure from me.

It became clear that protecting other people from what had befallen their daughter had become their mission and that success in that mission could help transform their grief. I agreed in that first meeting to file legislation to help.

There wasn’t much time left in the session and that week we drafted and filed a bill to require the installation of blind spot cameras and collision detectors on tour vehicles and also to require a separation of duties between drivers and tour guides.

A number of my colleagues joined me in sponsoring the bill and the joint Transportation Committee took it up promptly.

We initially drafted the bill to apply to all tour operators, not just duck boats. We let the tour operators know what we were doing and invited them to engage with us on how to improve the bill.

That led to a visit to a huge parking lot in Charlestown where the operators arrayed samples of all of the flavors of tour vehicles operating in Boston. We entered each and saw the road from the perspective of the driver. That exercise made clear that the duck boats were uniquely unsafe – visibility was much better in all of the other vehicles.

The Transportation Committee produced a bill that was focused on duck boats in particular and both branches took it up and passed it – the Senate first and, later in the fall, the House, where Rep. Livingstone carried it.

The Warmuths helped move it along, meeting with key decision makers at every stage – very effective advocates: They had undisputable standing and also a complete command of the facts.

While the legislation was pending there were a couple more duck boat accidents, mercifully non-fatal. It became clear to the major duck boat operator that they should get ahead of the issue. They voluntarily committed to implement the changes required by the legislation – the safety equipment improvements and the driver/tour-guide separation. Adding the separate tour guide is a huge transformation in their work force and they deserve credit for moving forward on it.

We got a lot done in the last session, but the duck boat law stands out for me emotionally – it makes Boston safer, but more than that, gives a little bit of positive meaning to the otherwise completely wasteful death of a fine young woman in her prime.

From the Warmuths We are so thankful to Senator Brownsberger for spearheading this legislation. His concern and effective quick action were always amazing to us. Senator Brownsberger, the other legislators, and Governor took a very dark story in our lives and turned it into something positive for the improved safety of the people. While it would be best to have these huge vehicles off the streets entirely, this bill is a giant step in the right direction. People of the Commonwealth can be so proud of their representatives for setting a standard for many others states across the country where this style of vehicle still operates unsafely.