Real simple answer, upon the first push of 911 the person(s) are evac'd even if they are ok unless they can plainly prove it was an erroneous push. First rule for EMT's "Don't let the patient think for themselves". It certainly would have ended this little saga. The word should then be spread about this one shot deal. Charging for the evac is next (I am awaiting the bill for my last ambulance ride as I type this). We read all the time about hikers getting into trouble and calling 911 on cell phones. SPOT just lets them get farther away. Stupidity should hurt.

Bill

An interesting idea, although I'm not sure where you got the idea that the first rule for EMT's is that the patient doesn't get to think for themselves as it's not accurate at all. We can't force otherwise competent people to accept medical care.

Forcing people to be evacuated will open up yet another whole set of legal issues.

Truthfully, the box has already been opened, I don't think there really is a solution to the problem. You can't mandate more intelligence, you can't force people to be more qualified before they attempt things beyond their grasp. You can't stop the market place from developing and selling items that can be used by stupid people in a manner not in keeping with the original design of the product.

This, the use of SPOT technology, is going to bring about some drastic changes in rescue/SAR/evacuation procedures, you heard it here first.

Makes me think of my favorite George Carlin quote: "Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!"

I think JohnE is wrong, its not the spot and most spot owners are not the problem ether. Most spot owners understand the spot and its uses, in the same way as most plb users do.

The problem here is the that the spot was hired out to people that don't understand its purpose. And, it was probably rented with no or little instruction. Possibly something like "if you have a problem press this button and someone will come and see whats wrong".

This will always be a problem for kit that is rented out. maybe the solution is to issued a citation for creating a hazardous condition or fine both parties. That way the people renting the machine understand that they have a duty to make sure that they fully explain it use.

You are always going to have stories about the unbelievably dumb, the incurably insane and the unreasonably optimistic who mess up...

The one thing to keep in mind is they are all rare enough to be newsworthy and if situations like this one were common they would be too normal to be worth reporting as news.

I agree the boneheads should be charged in this case and I hope if they fight it their lawyers defending them leave them penniless.

I say that if the charge is high enough then folks will get the idea that SAR is serious stuff and not something to call for frivolous reasons. At the same time they will know it is there if they actually need it.

Tricky - if you start charging for rescues it deters people calling for help until it's too late. Or worse people then trying to evade the rescuers to get back on their own.

Do you want people to call for help as soon as they are lost or wait until it's dark and they are cold, wet, hypothermic and even more lost.

I agree it is tricky and sometimes it is hard to keep people from wanting to put user fees in place.
But I actually only meant to fine the idiot cases like this one.
I still think SAR should be free to those who really need it.

I think SAR falls under the heading of community services.
I think it is right to fine people who give false alarms to police, fire departments, and other 911 type services.
I would not advocate private fees for any of these services.
I do advocate serious penalties for abusing them.

Well said.

I spent a few minutes searching for SPOT statistics, could not find any.
Would be interesting to see reliable stats on numbers rescued, false alarm resues, etc.
Anyone know of any?

BTW, I took my SPOT to Yemen; does not work there (not that I expected it to).

That's one thing to remember about SPOT, unlike the COSPAR satellites used by PLBs (or even some other satphone systems) the satellite must have both you and a ground station in view at the same time.

This means it doesn't work in the middle of the ocean, a lot of Africa and in a few countries with uncooperative telecoms providers.

There is also an issue of who they are going to call even if there is a link. Does SPOT have a relationship with or even any contact numbers for the Yemeni coastguard/army/rescue ?

I want people to call for help when they truly need help, not when they are inconvenienced or uncomfortable. These people should have been picked off the first time, if not the second. Tying up rescue assets like this should be penalized just like false alarms.

Personal responsibility, a dying trait.