Beginning Sept.1 operators of any power boat measuring 26 feet or less and equipped with an emergency engine cut-off switch will be required to make certain the switch is functional and have it attached and operational whenever the boat is moving at more then headway speed or face a fine of as much as $200.00.

A kill switch employs a lanyard or wireless device that kills a boat's motor when the boat operaor is thrown away from the helm as can happen when the vessel strikes a submerged object, is hit by a wave, or suffers a mechanical failure of the steering system.

Without a kill switch, anyone thrown over board could b e sruck by the running boat or its still spinning and potential deadly propeller.

Surveys have found that only an estimated 10 to 20 percent of operators of power boat on Texas waters use kill switches.