This is an interesting question. Wonder if it plays at all into why Allison sells almost no single console boats. Since they are driven at higher speed, we almost exclusively get dual consoles ordered.

This is how I run the Colorado river in Ivie

With an Allison I would think aerodynamics plays a role in a double console as well.

I run singles because I never sit in the passenger side in my boat . I'm sure most of the time the passengers get more protection from a dual. The best way to be safe is drive the conditions and pay attention, stuff can happen faster than you think.

It does -- that and the speeds these boats are capable of would be brutal with no console.

The first mistake you made was follow me up Kickapoo because i have no idea how to run it, the second mistake was following me period because most the time I do not know where i am going lol

How about seat belts in boats? In the old days, we worried about a boat flipping over and getting trapped, but now with the new boat designs, you don't have to worry much about a boat flipping.

New hulls are just as susceptible to flipping

There were accidents on Monticello. I know of 2 guys running in the fog actually trying to get thru the bridge to the hot water side ending up missing. Ended up almost to the highway. I think it was a Ranger.

Even if GPS were 100% all the time and you could stay absolutely perfectly on your trail (neither of which is true) it doesn't tell you about another boat that might be in your path. Don't run in the fog. Period.

Just slow down you don’t need a dual console. Besides how is a gps gonna tell you are about to run over another boater? Running flat out in fog is stupid and dangerous you could kill somebody.
Personally I don’t like jail .

I did not intend for this to be about fog.

A steering failure could….and possibly did…result in a similar accident to the Cedar Creek one.

I have a double in my boat but my partner has a removable passenger and he does not like to have it in. Just wondering if there is consistent proof that a console would help a passenger in an accident.

Well. Of course it is safer for the passenger to have something in front of them. It is also possible to have the passenger console cause more injuries than without one. It depends on the situation and EVERY situation is different.
My boat is a dual console boat and my partners like the wind block and I like the looks and glovebox. My partners also like the big [censored] grab handle in front of them. My console is sorta padded on the edges and door, so I would rather impact that vs tree stumps or dam rip rap if it was a choice. It is also pretty sturdy, so in the event of a low speed collision with another boat from the port side, it may keep the bow of the opposing boat outta the face and chest area of a passenger. Maybe not. If caught in a hail storm, it gives the passenger a place to hide their head(proven fact).

There is no way to totally prevent injuries in certain accidents…dual console or single.

As for steering failure? That is possible, however remote of a possibility it may be. His boat is a beautiful, new, well maintained boat. It is NMEA certified. I don’t think it had a steering component fail. It was likely operator error or driving beyond the conditions that were present. If I had a guess, I’d say the boat was running along side the dam, caught a wave at a bad angle and bow hooked. It has happened to everyone that pilots a boat. Most of the time there is plenty of room for the wiggle and most correct their course by instinct and never really notice it. But…if hugging the shore line, a small wiggle could be enough that the margin for error is too little. I have seen the pictures, as everyone has, and the motor looks intact to the transom and the steering seems well connected to the motor. The motor was not canted to one side of the other like it came loose from the ram.