[pct-l] Yuppie 911

[Eric Lee]

Handyrock wrote:
>
There are very few activations because virtually all long range cruising
sailors have years of experience and know not to activate the EPIRB unless
there in a situation where death may be ceratin without a rescue. [...] The
issue is not with the Spot, but rather with the user. A new user should be
well educated as to how to use the device and to never activate the SOS
function unless they are in a life or death situation.
>

There's a *huge* barrier to entry to become a long range cruising sailor.
You don't just run down to your local outdoor shop and pick up a blue-water
sailboat on the spur of the moment because you've got a vacation coming up
next week.  So yeah, it's not surprising that long-range sailors generally
have the training and intelligence to use their beacons responsibly.

I totally agree that the issue is with the user, not with the technology,
but . . . the clueless users aren't going away.  For the kind of users we're
talking about, no amount of well-intentioned education will make a
difference.  Any long-term sustainable SAR system that incorporates PLBs
like the Spot is going to have to recognize and plan for a whole lot of
abuse, because the abuse will happen.  It's inevitable with the low barrier
to entry that we're talking about here.

I believe the only effective control is a big sticker right on the "911"
button that says, "Warning - pressing this button will cost you $500.  Are
you sure this is an emergency?"

Eric