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Woman hit by Duck Boat

WBZ reports a pedestrian was hit around 11:25 a.m. at Clarendon and Newbury streets.

WCVB reports the woman was crossing against a red light.

Earlier:
Woman on scooter killed in collision with Duck Boat.

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Comments

Can we please just ban the damn things already?

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Duck tours are great fun to ride on, but it's clear they're just too dangerous. Time to get rid of them.

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Typical knee-jerk response, something we see all the time from legislators.

How about finding out why they happen? Like, maybe the driver/narrator is too distracted to pay attention to the driving part of the job, kinda like driving with a cell phone.

FWIW, we were in Philly a few weeks ago and took a duck tour. They have a driver and a narrator

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FWIW, we were in Philly a few weeks ago and took a duck tour. They have a driver and a narrator

It isn't just the duck boats, but also those fake trolley and pseudouble decker things that have this problem with distracted driving.

If anything, the ducks seem to be the least problematic for this - those tall buses come through very high pedestrian areas on streets laid out in the 1700s or earlier, and the drivers think they can use them like plows when making the turn from Washington to Water through an extremely busy crosswalk (without a signal, the peds have absolute right of way!)

This is not a turn to make one-handed, nor is it one to be frustrated and distracted.

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Don't make this about the trolleys. I drive one of those and they are a lot easier to drive than you think.They turn on a dime and we have excellent sight lines, unlike Boston Duck. It is the pedestrians and bike riders.They DO NOT PAY ATTENTION and just feel like they can cross wherever and whenever they please. If everyone jut followed the rules of the road we would not be having this conversation.

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There is not a light there, and you and your fellows do not have the right of way when making that turn.

I have seen too many drivers in these vehicles act as if those hundreds (and I mean HUNDREDS) of people crossing there are just doing it to be in the way.

As a cyclist, I know how stupid pedestrians can act. However, this is an older section of a colonial city not built for cars and there are places where the sidewalks cannot even hold the number of people walking. Drivers are guests.

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and how good the sight lines are, etc, next time I hear a driver narrating the battle of Bunker Hill or some such while driving down the bike lane.

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Why should duck boats be banned when;
"The woman, who was crossing against the signal when she was hit by a boat turning from Newbury Street onto Clarendon Street, was knocked to the ground, police say."

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If only one person can see the other. Duck Boats, short of having their prow replaced with transparent fiberglass, are dangerous because they can't see where they are going. And the practice of having a driver/narrator doesn't help matters. They should really have a crew of 4-5, with one driver, one narrator, and 2-3 spotters. Or be accompanied by flashing lights and escort vehicles like other oversized vehicles are, and all should be. Or just banned. But not to single out one large vehicle only, I also think the same about 18 wheelers and other large trucks on city streets.

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Don't assume it was an issue of the driver not seeing the ped.

It could be that.

Or - It could easily be another case of an idiot Boston pedestrian stepping out in front of an oncoming motor vehicle, no matter how close it is, because "Hey, I'm a pedestrian and I have the right of way and that vehicle HAS TO stop for me", thoughtless that even with hairtrigger reaction time from the driver, the laws of physics (inertia) trump the MGL.

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Just because a human being is crossing the street against the light, it does not give the driver of the duck boat the all clear to strike them with his tank on wheels. Furthermore, anyone who drives through this area regularly, such as a duck boat tour guide driver, knows that distracted tourists, students texting on smartphones, parents with strollers, businessmen yapping on bluetooth devices, shoppers and runners routinely cross against the light on Newbury Street in the Back Bay and on Charles Street in Beacon Hill and on Arlington St. near the Public Garden. As a driver of a very large vehicle who drives the same route ALL OF THE TIME they should be fully aware of this and driving accordingly. Jaywalking is stupid and potentially dangerous and so is driving a tank full of tourists while distracted by conducting a tour which should be prohibited, especially after the death of the woman on the vespa crushed by a duck boat in Beacon Hill.

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Did anyone say that the operator hit the pedestrian because he/she was in the clear? A driver, narrator and 2-3 "spotters" sounds absolutely ridiculous. Does anyone know if the fact that the operator was narrating the tour contributed to this incident?

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If you actually wait for facts and details to come out, it gives you a chance to sharpen your pitchfork before you use it...

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You mean ban jaywalking/iphones? It wasn;t the Duck Boat driver's fault.

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You mean if an elderly or disabled pedestrian needs more time to cross the street than the time allocated by the light cycle, and a driver plows into said pedestrian, the driver is blameless?

We're talking about Newbury Street, one of the busiest pedestrian roads in the city. This isn't 93 or 128. If you're piloting a multi-ton machine down the road, it's your duty as a driver to ensure that there are no obstacles in your way, and to drive slowly enough and pay enough attention to react accordingly. And if your vehicle has such blind spots that such operation isn't possible, or if your job requires you to play tour guide at the same time, then maybe you and the vehicle shouldn't be on the road.

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"The woman admitted she crossed against the light" do you not understand. Despite what some would have us believe, pedestrians do NOT automatically have the right of way at all times.

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Pedestrians have SOME responsibility for their safety as well as others. You should never assume drivers(or bikers) are paying attention therefore blindly walking across the street. I always check for cars even when I have a "walk sign." Sadly, with smart phones and other distractions, its reckless to assume drivers are paying attention.

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The law calls for yielding the right of way, not seizing it.

And there's a wide difference between "not being at fault" and "mowing down any asshole in the crosswalk because I've got a green light."

Side note: if you've got the green light and there's a ped in the crosswalk, you may still be at fault if the ped's WALK/DON'T WALK light is broken. Check out
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter89/Sect...

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Just because you have the right of way does not mean you have the right to run people over.

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Who think B.B, B.H., S.E., Fenway, downtown, N. End are amusement parks, not part busy, densely populated big city. Part of the blame is tourism industry advertises the city as a quaint tourist attraction.

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If a driver screws up, someone is hurt but there is no harm to the driver.

If a pedestrian screws up, they are hurt or killed, but no harm to the driver.

This sort of asynchronous risk is the major problem, not the tourist industry.

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I don't know if this has anything to do with this particular crash, but I wanted to point out that If you see duck drivers misbehave, say something to their bosses. There does seem to be an uptick in drivers who aren't up to the task of driving in the city.

I have called Duck Tours twice this week when I've seen a particular boat being driven in an aggressive manner - as in "tailgating, then honking at a vehicle in front yielding to pedestrians on a turn and then roaring through behind despite people attempting to cross with the walk light", and "roaring through a red light at high throttle" because they didn't want to stop.

The boats have names on them and you can use that if you see one, say, blowing around a "no right on red" and through a crosswalk with people crossing with the light.

I don't know if it was the same driver, but it was the same boat each time. I have heard that they do take action.

Of course, it would help if pedestrian areas had light cycles that reflected the relative demand for pedestrian crossings in those areas, and it would help if there were some enforcement of laws on all modes of travel.

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At least on busy streets. Relegate them to waterways and shorefront zones. The chief's intransigent attitude at the recent hearings only reinforces my belief in this. They should be allowed full access again only when they have a safer policy and responsible leadership in place.

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Did the pedestrian catch the Pokemon or not?

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It's not very wide and it's always full of pedestrians. Keep the boats on Boylston or Comm. Ave. where there's more room for them.

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Does anyone have a listing of all of the Duck Boat incidents since they came into play in Boston? It feels like it's a recent upsurge, but I totally could be wrong. I'm just curious to see if there is any coincidence in distraction by people in all modes of travel (no one group to blame in my query, IOW).

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