Use of Engine Cut-Off Switches Helps Prevent Injuries

Each year, many boating accidents involve an operator and/or passengers who fall overboard for a variety of reasons. The USCG requires that operators of vessels equipped with an ECOS use the device at all times. Wearing an ECOS lanyard not only ensures that your boat or PWC stays close if you fall overboard, but it also prevents you from being run over by your own boat. When the operator isn’t wearing a lanyard, the unmanned boat tends to run in hard, fast circles, often resulting in severe injury or death from a propeller strike. Wearing the lanyard reduces the risk of a propeller injury.