Local

Ride the Ducks fined $308,000 for safety violations

SEATTLE — The Utilities and Transportation Commission approved a settlement agreement with Ride the Ducks of Seattle if the company agrees to increase the fine to $308,000.

UTC staff opened the investigation into Ride the Ducks after the Sept. 24, 2015, crash with a tour bus on Seattle’s Aurora Bridge. Five students were killed in the crash and dozens of other people were hurt.

Ride the Duck’s operating permit was suspended pending a full inspection of the company’s fleet, drivers, and operations.

Commission staff and the company filed the settlement agreement in March, which proposed a $222,000 penalty, with $111,600 suspended for two years.

In the settlement agreement, the company admitted to violating 463 motor carrier safety rules that were identified in UTC’s 2015 investigation, 159 of which were classified as acute or critical to protecting public safety. The remaining 304 violations were related to recordkeeping.

The commissioners found the proposed penalty amount inadequate, stating, "These violations taken as a whole reflect an insufficient approach to public safety that the commission cannot tolerate."

The commission agreed to suspend $152,000 of the penalty on the condition that the company does not violate acute, critical, or alcohol and controlled substance testing requirements for two years.  If Ride the Ducks commits a new violation of those regulations, the suspended penalty amount will be reinstated.

Ride the Ducks has five days to accept or reject the commission’s conditions.

Ride the Ducks is required to undergo follow-up compliance investigations and vehicle inspections this summer, and again in January 2017 and January 2018, to determine if the company is following its safety management plan and to verify compliance with state and federal safety requirements.