Tiki Tubing: Livingston Parish council to consider implementing safety protocols for tubers

LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (BRPROUD)- After multiple deaths and rescues on the Amite River, the Livingston Parish Council is discussing the possibility of regulating the waterways to keep tubers safe. The popular Denham Springs water sports company, Tiki Tubing, has made headlines several times over the last few months. Often after heavy rain events, the river current is much stronger, which creates dangerous conditions for tubers and has led to emergency responders rescuing several people.

There are currently no laws in place to improve safety measures for tubing on the river, but after two recent deaths, many are now calling on the Livingston Parish government to implement regulations.

"As Parish Government, it is our job to make sure the people are as safe as they can be," said Councilman District 7 Tracy Girlinghouse.

The river has gained more traffic since the start of the pandemic, creating a greater need for safety protocols. Girlinghouse said while they've not been in communication with the owner of Tiki Tubing but they will still move forward with safety plans.

"They’ve been following the structure they've been given, and I believe to some degree it's been structureless, now we’re going to put some structure in place for them," said Girlinghouse.

The Livingston parish council is considering mandating life vests, adding warning signs near the water, and requiring tubers to watch safety videos, many say the requirement of life vests should have always been in place.

"It probably should've been in place, but you know it hasn't always been that way and unfortunately no one thinks about it until it becomes tragic," said Girlinghouse. "We have to at least put some safeguard in place to make it safer for people and for people to be more informed before they make the decision to get on the river in general."