Are You Really Lost, or Crying Wolf?
Some Self-Absorbed Americans Take Their GPS Tracking Devices for Granted
Daredevils, thrill-seekers and adventurers. Those are words someone might choose to describe people who get amped up when they push themselves to their physical limits.
Ask the rescuers who have to pull those people out of tight spots to describe them, and you might hear something different: spoiled yuppies.
A GPS-based technology called the personal locator beacon, or a GPS emergency locator, is saving lives, but also increasing the number of false alarms being reported as emergencies. Police, fire, and medical personnel are being summoned to situations where the “victims” are suffering little more than a lack of self-sufficiency.
Personal locator beacons are portable electronic devices that capture GPS tracking signals from satellites. The user presses a panic button, presumably if he gets lost or stranded. A company supporting the system receives the alert and forwards the GPS tracking information to the appropriate emergency team.
These GPS tracking devices have been available for more than a decade, but they were very bulky and pricey. Recently the tracking systems were approved for public use and the price fell to few hundred dollars or less.
Now debate swirls like a bad storm: Do GPS tracking devices create a false sense of confidence? Authorities are reporting that this piece of GPS tracking equipment, designed to be carried “just in case,” is being used frequently on a whim, much like a cell phone. There have been reports of people out on adventures calling for jackets, requesting bottled water and asking to be picked up because a thunderstorm is threatening. They seem oblivious to the cost of a full-blown rescue mission.
It’s the modern-day version of calling the fire department to get your kitten out of a tree.
The San Bernardino County, CA police department is keeping a log of emergency calls made with portable GPS tracking devices. Staff hopes to find a pattern and use it to reduce the number of false alarms. San Bernardino County is home to the famous Death Valley, 5,000 square miles of wilderness. Novice hikers armed with portable GPS tracking systems are venturing out into the desert unprepared, and they simply call for help when the journey starts getting a little rough.
The whole reason for an adventure is to use your physical and mental strength to rescue yourself when you’re in a difficult situation, said John Amrhein, emergency coordinator. Amrhein said he is tired of being treated like a concierge or a babysitter.
The failed rescue of mountain climbers stranded at the top of Mount Hood in Oregon in December presents another side of the case.
Three young people lost their lives on the mountain. They were experienced hikers. Between them, they accomplished the feat 10 times previously. But they did not pack a GPS tracking device.
Would the outcome have been different if they carried a portable GPS emergency beacon?
Probably not, in this case. One of the deciding factors in calling off the mountain search was weather. Winter storms created white out conditions and were a sign of avalanches to come. A search leader said that even if they knew where the hikers were, they would have to delay rescue until the weather improved.
The maximum survival time for stranded hikers on Mount Hood was estimated at three days, factoring in temperature and weather conditions. If the storm had settled after a day or two, and rescuers knew the exact location of the victims by their GPS tracking coordinates, odds are good that they would be alive today.
GPS tracking technology has reduced the level of danger when it comes to travel. When the road gets dark and threatening, help is rarely more than a few button pushes away.
The Global Positioning System is a man-made technology that seems to be a godsend. We should buy and use vehicle tracking systems and personal locator beacons. But GPS tracking technology must be seen from the correct perspective. No piece of gear guarantees survival; they just reduce the odds of tragedy.
GPS tracking technology is a safety net, not a savior.
Sources: MSNBC , the Fresno Bee
Tags: alarm, emergencies, false, GPS Tracking, lives, saving
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