wrote in message
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Well, the title says it all. Maybe a hundred years ago it was cool,
but there is really too much traffic in most places now for folks to
have unattended helm, even for a few seconds. Why do they still do it?

Because it is still cool.

On a train, let go of the throttle and the engine dies. In the case of a
boat, It's a lanyard attached to your wrist and the other end trips a kill
switch if the lanyard is pulled. Unfortunately, on a boat, it is not a
passive device. It won't work if the operator chooses not to attach the
wrist strap.