Kali's Law

It is my understanding that this law requires the kill switch lanyard to be attached to the driver. It does not require you to wear a life jacket.The 1st time I went out in my boat after this law was enacted, I noticed that my shorts didn't have a d-ring. As a matter of fact, none of my shorts do. So I just clipped it to my pocket. What have you guys been doing?

crappie fishing and watching football now,..

Attached to life jacket and always worn while under way.

Around my wrist in ny throttle hand. Easy and works great.

Wrist.

+1

Life jacket....a decision I can live with.

+2

ME Too

A no brainer.

Kali's Law no help here.

Nope, Murphy's Law will eventually rule on this one. They can't fine you for being an idiot!

I'm guessing that's California.

Looks like Conroe or a dozen other Texas lakes.

I don't worry about that law,

I hate having the lanyard flop around on my wrist.

I have a plastic clip dog collar. I clip it around my leg in the spot under my knee and above my calf. Completely out of the way and doesnt snag on everything when maneuvering like it does when on my wrist.

I've been clipping it to my shorts when I'm on the pontoon. Still not sure the law makes sense. How many people are killed each year when their lives could have been saved by a kill switch? I get the pain the family went through, but I don't think changing the law was necessary.

If you read the way she was killed a kill switch would not have saved her.. I understand the pain but wearing a life jacket would make more sense.... BUI kills more people than not having a kill switch attached...

And that is against the law also.

A kill switch would have saved her life, just ask the boat operator that was thrown away from the controls of the boat.

Bottom line....it is the law, LIVE with it.

Can you post a link where it says the operator was thrown from the controls. Thanks

I have posted it several times. So, no I can't do it again. Look it up.

A local family hopes their heartache will lead to a new law intended to make boating safer for Texans. As News 4 Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila reports, their daughter died in a terrible boat accident they feel might have been prevented with a simple change.

“We miss her. We suffer every day. We will as long as we're here," says James Gorzell.

It's been almost seven years since he and his wife Donna lost their daughter Kali in a tragic boating accident. She was fishing with friends off Port Aransas when the boat went out of control and Kali was thrown overboard.

The 16-year-old Smithson Valley High School honor student was struck by the propeller, which was still running because the engine's kill switch was not engaged.

“The driver that day, our friend Robert, believes that if he had used his kill switch that day, it would have stopped the engine before it struck Kali, and she'd probably still be here," Gorzell says.

‘Kali’s Law’ is named for the 16-year-old daughter of James and Donna Gorzell, who died on a fishing trip with friends

The death of a Texas teenaged girl nearly seven years ago has led lawmakers there to introduce legislation requiring the use of an engine cut-off switch on any engine equipped with one.

‘Kali’s Law’ is named for the 16-year-old daughter of James and Donna Gorzell, who died on a fishing trip with friends when their boat went out of control and Kali was thrown overboard and caught in the propeller.

The Gorzells, along with family and friends, testified before the legislature and pushed for the safety changes as they have been since Kali’s death.

“The driver that day, our friend Robert, believes that if he had used his kill switch that day, it would have stopped the engine before it struck Kali, and she’d probably still be here,” James Gorzell told WOAI-TV.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department official also testified, and gave an alarming estimate: Of the 29 fatal boating accidents reported in Texas last year, the agency believes 26 might have been prevented if a kill switch had been used. That would have reduced the total number of boating deaths to just three, according to the station.

I am sorry for their loss, it is very sad. I think kill switches work it what they are for. But if a law is made for every time
Someone is killed in the world. Jeez just think about it.

The problem is that you can't fix stupid, you have to legislate it.

It's easy to lean facts one way or another when you are trying to win a debate.

https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/05/20/deaths-texas-lakes-game-wardens-safety/

A safety ignition kill switch comes equipped on most motorized boats, but it only works when boat operators take the extra step to clip it on. Jones said of the 29 boating fatalities that occurred in Texas last year, many could have been prevented if the driver had used a kill switch.

“Drowning is the highest reported cause of death in boating fatalities, and most victims are found not wearing a lifejacket,” Jones said. “It’s not enough to just stow your life jacket onboard because accidents on the water can happen much too fast to reach and put one on.”

I don't think the 26 out of 29 statement is accurate.

Exactly

http://www.propellersafety.com/14860/regulations/texas-media-misleads-boaters-kalis-law/

Yeah, YOU can lean facts too.

You can argue this till the cows come home and it is still the law!

http://www.propellersafety.com/14860/regulations/texas-media-misleads-boaters-kalis-law/

As per our earlier report we only found two fatal boat propeller accidents reported by Texas in the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) in 2017 (2018 statistics are not out yet). Both 2017 Texas boat propeller fatalities involved a houseboat backing into a father and his daughter. Use of a kill switch lanyard would not have prevented that accident. Thus, per a quick look, NONE of the 2017 boating fatalities in Texas would have been prevented.

We cannot see the 2018 data yet but would expect similar results.

So I guess the next law will be that everybody in a boat will have to wear a helmet

Get over it, it's the law.

This is a forum and the law affects all of us. If you don't have anything to add, move on.

It would be so easy to put the kill switch under the seat. It is a compression switch you leave the seat it kills the motor. Most ridding mowers have them . They work! They can be put under both seats,

"We are the government and we are here to protect you from yourself"

How would you dock the boat?
How would you anchor in heavy seas or current when you put motor in neutral but for sure need it running?

A kill switch is now and always has been a good idea. There are no arguments against it. I dont understand the resistance. My boat is over the 26ft requirement I have always worn the kill switch. For decades.

But if you dont like the law dont do it. Problem will fix itself.....

It would reduce far more fatalities than a kill switch if the maximum automobile speed limit was 45mph, but no one wants to drive that slow. It would also save a lot more lives if everyone on a boat was required to wear a life jacket whether the boat was running or not, but no one wants their life jacket on the entire time they are in a boat.

When I'm in a bass boat with one of my buddies and he's going 65, I want him to have the kill switch attached, but if I'm in a pontoon going 8mph, I see no need for it.

I want to see the real stats. I would like to know how many fatalities could have realistically been avoided over the last 10 years by using a kill switch. This debate reminds me of the "Assult Weapons" debate. When you look at the stats, rifles are one of the least used weapons for murder, yet the liberal media would have you thinking they are the biggest evil in the US. In 2018 there were 6603 murders by handgun, 1515 by knife, 443 by blunt objects and 297 by rifle. Let's see some similar stats about kill switches. Sometimes reality does not support the reaction.


There have been a number of comments like this on this and other threads, but I don't see people saying they refuse to wear a kill switch. We are just having a discussion about whether or not we agree with the law.

The kill switch law will only work if the operator is also wearing a life jacket. If the operator is thrown overboard without a life jacket and no kill switch he is likely to drown before he can swim to shore or be rescued. If he is wearing a life jacket and using a kill switch, he may be able to swim to the boat, and climb back in or at least hold on till he is rescued. No life jacket and using a kill switch only improves his chances a minute amount. Water temp will decide if he can swim to the boat or not.

It is not a miracle law, but since so many people don't have common sense nowadays, it is needed.

I still don't see the heartburn, life jackets and kill switches have been required for years in fishing tournaments and it seems most posters here are professional fishermen.

Don't wear the life jacket and use the kill switch because it is law, do it for YOURSELF!

That's part of my point. We don't have a law requiring PFDs to be worn while under way, but we do now have a law requiring kill switches to be attached. It doesn't make sense.

It's just a matter of time. Life vests are already required on jet skis and on kids in boats while underway. If the drownings continue to rise, you can bet life vests will be required for all operators just like fishing tournaments today.

Fatalities have been on a downward, not upward trend. Here are two charts to prove it. The first chart is Texas, the second is national.

I have never seen any report that the operator was thrown from the controls. Yes I read what the operator said but what he said is vague. I would assume if he lost control then it would have been mentioned in one of the many articles on it. Was the operator thrown from the controls? Did he circle around and try to retrieve her and left the motor running while trying to help her? Does he even know how the kill switch works? People are just making assumptions to defend their belief and can't base it on any known fact. There is in fact a device that will kill the motor if ANY passenger goes overboard, not just the driver. Why not make that a requirement? Why would a boat over a certain length not be just as dangerous without a kill switch. Why if the boat didn't come with one you don't have to put one on? If this is such a huge danger to the public why would they not fully protect the public? The family made enough noise and found someone sympathetic who decided that they would pass the law with little or no complaints from boaters.

I stuck myself with a hook once. I am going to ask for them to ban lures from having sharp points on them now.

You're right. Get your facts right.
You really should research he subject before making wrong comments. It did not pass easily, it took two sessions. As far as the operator being thrown from the controls, it was a center console boat and he was thrown to the floor and couldn't get up in time to get control of the boat before it hit her. A kill switch WOULD have saved her life.



I agree with you on banning fishing lures with sharp points. Seems some can't handle them without sticking themselves.

I hope you get over it soon because I'm tired of your unrelenting bantering on the subject.

Get over it...you made your point.

This is how they all end up,.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I still have not read anywhere that the driver of the boat was ejected (hence the Kill Switch would have engaged) the day Kali was killed.

He testified that he "believes that if he had used his kill switch that day, it would have stopped the engine before it struck Kali, and she’d probably still be here." but all reports say he never left the boat?

He could have fell in the CC boat and the kill switch could have never been engaged.

Heck I can move to the center of my boat and still have plenty of cord left to keep it running. Now if I stand up and move to the front deck it works everytime.

I wear mine 100% of the time and always have in every boat that I or my family have owned that has had a kill switch.

In the flat bottoms that we have had that didn't have a Kill Switch we use bungee cords to keep the engine from torquing to one side sending it into the death circle mode.

There were many factors in the Kali accident, like any accident, change any one of them and the outcome would have been different. The flats boat had poor handling characteristics, and the weight distribution was shifted toward the bow with passengers. The flats boat "swapped ends". The operator was thrown to the floor, and believed a kill switch would have made a difference. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. I can attach my kill switch and have plenty of cord to hit the floor in my CC. The prop does not stop instantly when the switch is triggered either. If you know for sure that a kill switch would have saved her life, then please use your all knowing power to help me pick some lottery numbers.

That aside, I installed a FELL MOB+ wireless kill switch in my boat and it has worked flawlessly now for several months. I can move all over the boat if I want and kill the engine with a press of the fob around my neck. Comes in really handy when downrigging and you hit a snag and want the boat stopped quick. Cost about 200 bucks and an hour to install.

Just go like h$ll and park it on the dock. Easiest way to anchor is throw it in the water!!!