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A comment on A Brief History of the Amphicar – President Lyndon Johnson’s Favorite Car (2020). Parent comment

Re:A Brief History of the Amphicar – President Lyndon Johnso... by throwaway0a5e on Wednesday June 02, 2021 @09:09AM (#27368257)
What are people expecting? They're 75yo vehicles who's capacity and seaworthiness were defined relative to very different cultural norms regarding safety and a national emergency that necessitated acceptance of some additional risk. Heck, the base truck chassis would be a workplace injury lawsuit waiting to happen by modern standards.

Other than the one that capsized in Missouri a few years back the Wikipedia page listing fatal accidents is surprisingly devoid of sinkings.

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Re:A Brief History of the Amphicar – President Lyndon Johnso... by MisterTea on Wednesday June 02, 2021 @10:36AM (#27369180)
> What are people expecting?

A safe experience. There is always risk involved but floating things are a solved problem.

> They're 75yo vehicles who's capacity and seaworthiness were defined relative to very different cultural norms regarding safety and a national emergency that necessitated acceptance of some additional risk.

Duck boats are antiquated military vehicles which are modified by their owners via cutting them in half and extending them. One owner did the work himself with little to no experience in that area with zero engineering oversight. Basically the guy winged it and people died.

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