The Trouble with Spot

This just in from the NPS Morning Report. Technology can be a blessing, and sometimes a curse....

Today's Report | Recent Editions
Wednesday, October 21, 2009


INCIDENTS

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Hikers Evacuated After Three SPOT Activations In Three Days

On the evening of September 23rd, rangers began a search for hikers who repeatedly activated their rented SPOT satellite tracking device. The GEOS Emergency Response Center in Houston reported that someone in the group of four hikers – two men and their two teenaged sons – had pressed the “help” button on their SPOT unit. The coordinates for the signal placed the group in a remote section of the park, most likely on the challenging Royal Arch loop. Due to darkness and the remoteness of the location, rangers were unable to reach them via helicopter until the following morning. When found, they’d moved about a mile and a half to a water source. They declined rescue, as they’d activated the device due to their lack of water. Later that same evening, the same SPOT device was again activated, this time using the “911” button. Coordinates placed them less than a quarter mile from the spot where searchers had found them that morning. Once again, nightfall prevented a response by park helicopter, so an Arizona DPS helicopter whose crew utilized night vision goggles was brought in. They found that the members of the group were concerned about possible dehydration because the water they’d found tasted salty, but no actual emergency existed. The helicopter crew declined their request for a night evacuation, but provided them with water before departing. On the following morning, another SPOT “help” activation came in from the group. This time they were flown out by park helicopter. All four refused medical assessment or treatment. The group’s leader had reportedly hiked once at the Grand Canyon; the other adult had no Grand Canyon and very little backpacking experience. When asked what they would have done without the SPOT device, the leader stated, “We would have never attempted this hike.” The group leader was issued a citation for creating a hazardous condition (36 CFR 2.34(a)(4)). [Submitted by Brandon Torres, Canyon District Shift Supervisor]

I wonder what type of instructions they receiced when the rented the unit. Not that it matters but I would anticipate one outcome renters should be warned is to use only in an true emergeny or expect to get charges for the cost of wasting everyone's time.

I worry that this type of story will reoccur enough that evenatually all SAR efforts become billableand that folks in true need but limited resources will refrain from activating SPOT or PLBs for fear of the possible charges.

If so, it would be a cruel irony as the low cost of rescue electronics that makes it affodable could result in higher incured costs for rescue that makes it too expensive for the average recreation camper/hiker.

Grand Canyon seems to have a fair number of these situations. About a week ago, they received a SPOT 911 alert. When the ranger reached the group at dawn the next day, everyone was peacefully asleep in their tents.

It seems that a member of the party, awakened by what seemed to be signs of respiratory distress from the leader's tent, punched the panic button and then went back to sleep (!!??)

I'll bet that backcountry parties at Grand Canyon are now asked if they are carrying a PLB, and probably receive some guidelines on its proper use. Popular parks like Grand Canyon see wide ranges of skill and experience in visitors.

Doesn't seem a SPOT specific issue. You could imagine the same incident happening with a PLB.

-john

The issue is nomenclature. 9-1-1 is the WRONG term to put on the device. First of all, 9-1-1 is not universal - it's 9-9-9 or 0-0-0 in other countries.

Secondly, 911 is a fast-response, local service. A simpler thing is a red button and that's it - no "9-1-1" response here.

Finally, there should be a cost for each 9-1-1 press. I'd say $200 is about right. If it's a real emergency, that's not a lot of money and anyone would press the button for help.

It's a SPOT specific issue cause they've priced the gear and the service so cheaply that folks who would never have bought a PLB are buying the SPOT devices by the thousands.

It's reminiscent of the early days of 911 service where local police/fire agencies were inundated with "just wanted to see if this works" calls. In the case of people activating their SPOT devices, apparently they believe that they're to be used for inconveniences, not for emergencies.

The relatively high cost and "hard to get" attributes of a PLB make them far less likely to be abused by idiots.

This country needs to find a way to tax stupidity. It would provide income for the government wastrels to blow, and might even take a bit of the load off the more intelligent taxpayers.

Sue

While you have a valid point, I didn't in this specific case that there was an issue with them not understanding what 911 meant.



1) A phone isn't expensive and while sometimes abused, I don't see people suggesting we should make phones super expensive so people don't call 911.

2) Do you really want to make rescue something only available to the rich?

Come on guys, this isn't a SPOT issue, this is a stupid people issue.

-john

First: I don't really expect that media will manage to get this story right... After passing through their "is this newsworthy?" - filter things often get a little twisted... don't hang 'em based on media reports alone...

However, given the humans incredible capacity for stupidity this sort of thing is just waiting to happen. Two quotes for the day:

Albert Einstein:


Cody Lundgren:

RIGHT THERE! That is the point when I think you should have consiquences. Would you have done this without magic feather XYZ should never be answered with "no". If it is, you really are doing it wrong. I don't mean things like "would you have tried off road trail this without 4wd" or "would you have climbed this ice face without you tech gear", but "would you have done this without your 'knowing' your cell phone/2m ham/sat phone/SPOT/PLB can summon someone automagically show up to rescue you from the predicament you placed yourself in".

It's like thinking that an ejector seat means you don't need proper maintenance and flight training to get in the cockpit of an aircraft.

Not even a few 100g of C4 and a prominent SELF DESTRUCT button?

lol. It figures a Cody quote would pop up on this thread. That man can sure speak truth to power. Or whatever, that means.

Anyhoo. I was in the Grand Canyon earlier this month and watched a hiker be evac'd out of Indian Garden for respiratory or cardiovascular distress. Trail telegraph is so imprecise. I understand that helicopter goes there daily, sometimes multiple times by people over their head.

Even on Bright Angel, 4 miles under the rim, there's tourist wearing Chuck Taylor converse high tops or skate board shoes, wearing blue jeans with only 1 liter of water in their hand. And a long walk up. crazy.

My point was that it is a SPOT issue when compared to the usage of PLB's. Prior to SPOT, how many folks used PLBs when the water they found was "too salty"?

The real issue is in fact stupidity but how we can blame people when they see this stuff for sale and they read the wonderful stories about people being rescued because they had their SPOT with them?

If that SPOT device cost $1000 and the plan cost $500 per year and anyone buying one had to go thru a short course in how and why to use it, they'd be used by people who needed them instead of by people relying on the technology to make up for their stupidity.

People were heading off into the wilderness, and even the Grand Canyon for generations without needing a SPOT device. Unless the good folks at SPOT start ponying up the cash to reimburse for the unneeded searches that THEIR products help to facilitate I think that they share at least part of the blame.

Rather than seeing rescue personnel charging for their services, I think what we'll see is a well founded reluctance to even initiate a search based solely upon contact from the good folks who monitor things at SPOT HQ. Couple that with the first law suit filed by the family of a SAR team member killed while "rescuing" a couple of idiots who didn't like the taste of the water in the Grand Canyon and you'll see some REALLY interesting changes in outdoor/wildnerness policies.

But as always, I could be wrong...

and there were consequences, although the charge may not amount to much.A hefty fine for shipping and handling (rescue & evacuation) seems appropriate.

Hmm - does the optional SPOT rescue insurance plan cover the cost of this kind of incident(s)?

I could see some SPOT owners actually see the device as a low-cost, way out of the woods or canyon, if it did. Not a productive product direction though.

From one review:

"When you activate your SPOT online, you have the option of purchasing search-and-rescue insurance for $7.95 per year, which includes "up to $100,000 of additional search and rescue resources, including helicopter extraction around the world and reimbursement benefits – underwritten by Lloyd’s of London – for any emergency service expenses incurred." "

Maybe there should be a requirement that these devices have a way to only be activated once. For example, a pull-tab. Once the tab is out, it cannot be put back in, and the unit is constantly on. You can make it a two or three step process to help make it more difficult to activate.

On one hand I figure the general population has always had stupid people.

It has to be pointed out that many of the famous explorers were operating with what would now be considered inadequate background knowledge, experience and marginal equipment. Of course they were often forced to go in relatively unprepared because it was the best they could do in that day and age.

Growing up the people I knew didn't undertake major trips without working up to it by taking many shorter trips to gain experience. The alternative was to hire a guide.

Of course people still did get in over their head. Ending up alone in the deep woods without a clue. I suspect the real difference is that they either died or rescued themselves. This difference is because until relatively recently there was really no practical way to call for help. If you were smart you had a set itinerary filed with the local authorities and if you ran into trouble they would go looking for you.

Of course people too stupid to plan ahead for water are also unlikely to have filed an itinerary. Until the mid-70s they would either figure it out and make their way out on their own or not. Odds are the world would remain blissfully unaware as their predicament played out. It wasn't uncommon for people to find human remains and bits of camping gear deep in the woods. Standard answer was: 'We always wondered what happened to them'.

Nobody said there wasn't a down side to advanced telecommunications, satellites, and miniaturization of electronics.

there is a revised model SPOT coming out, see here:
http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=113
It addresses some of the issues.

As somebody said, you can't fix stupid.

There are thousands of responsible SPOT users that don't cause goofy incidents like this one.
I have one & so do several of my riding buddies.
Should we be penalized because fools rent & misuse the equipment?

I know - mostly from this site - that the SPOT has some shortcomings.
We like it because I can use the 'OK' button to let my wife know all is fine even when there is no other way to communicate.
I've had it over a year & so far the 'OK' button is the only one I have used.
Plan to keep it that way.

Should anyone be penalised? I don't know but you can bet your last Loonie that there will be a lawsuit(s) and it will involve either someone suing the folks at SPOT when a family member dies even though they used one or it will be the family member of a rescuer who gets killed responding to one of the many, in my opinion only, false calls that gets sent thru the SPOT response pipeline.

The more people have and use them, the more they will come to think it's their right to be rescued on a whim. It's inevitable.

Real PLBs do that, the selling point of the SPOT is that you can also send non-emergency messages. It's possible this confuses people or it just dilutes their feeling for the seriousness of sending an alert.

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.

This is a situation where I think sending them a bill for the rescue operation could be justified.

Already done. It's called a "lottery"

Lottery (n) - A means of government taking and redistributing money from those least able to afford it to a few isolated members of society, in a manner that is more politically expedient than taxation.

Maybe that's why they changed it to "S.O.S." in the new version?

Its better to rescue the clueless that to ignore those in 'Real' Survival Situations. PLB's have the same problem, the rich have as many clueless individuals as do the poor and in my opinion have the same rights to rescue. Having money does not mean you will not set off your PLB unnecessarily.

Here is an example of the appropriate use of technology, again from that great generator of rescues, Grand Canyon. Note that weather was a factor. It is still necessary for those outdoors to be reasonably self sufficient.


Today's Report | Recent Editions
Wednesday, November 18, 2009


INCIDENTS

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Rangers Rescue Injured Man From Elves Chasm

Park dispatch was notified of the 911 activation of a SPOT satellite locator device in Elves Chasm around 1 p.m. on the afternoon of Friday, November 13th. The chasm consists of a series of waterfalls and pools in a high-walled canyon about 30 miles downriver from Phantom Ranch. The 911 activation of a SPOT device transmits location coordinates and a non-specific emergency call for help. A second activation at the same location was reported approximately 30 minutes later. At the time of these activations, the park’s helicopter was unable to respond due to high winds and poor visibility, so a plane already in the air on another mission was dispatched to fly reconnaissance over the area. About an hour later, dispatch received a satellite phone report from a private river trip leader advising that a 39-year-old man had fractured his lower leg in multiple places when he took a fall in Elves Chasm. Because their satellite phone was not getting a signal at the time, a member of the group activated the 911 function on their SPOT device. Now in contact with the group, rangers were able to work with them over the phone to consider their self-rescue options. Unfortunately, self-rescue was not possible, and weather conditions did not improve enough for the helicopter to fly that evening. With over-the-phone guidance from park rangers, trip members made the injured man comfortable for the evening. Early the next morning, he was lifted from Elves Chasm by short-haul (suspended on a 150-foot line below the helicopter) and transported to a flat area where he could be loaded into the helicopter and flown to the South Rim helibase. From there, he was transported by ground ambulance to Flagstaff Medical Center. Although there has recently been a great deal of publicity about 911 activations of SPOT devices for non-emergencies, this situation exemplifies the value of these devices when used appropriately in emergency situations. [Submitted by Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer]

This is from a posting to the guest book for the Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue web site earlier this month Guest Book Entry - SPOT Use:

"In June of 2008 I was thru hiking on the Appalachian Trail near Harpers Ferry. While taking a break to take in the view from Weaverton Cliffs, I broke my leg. My hiking partner used my SPOT personal locator to call 911 and Frederick County was one of many to respond. After tremendous effort and teamwork personnel were able to get me off of the mountain and to an ambulance where I was taken to Frederick Memorial. I was treated for a distal fibula fracture at the ER and after arriving back home in Tennessee was found to also have a distal tibia fracture, cuboid fracture, calcaneous fracture and a torn peroneous tendon.

It's been over a year now, 12 weeks in a cast, 8 weeks in a boot and a lot of physical therapy, but I just wanted to express my deepest gratitude to all who worked so hard in the heat and humdity that day to carry me off the mountain.

Thank you and God Bless !

Susan
Trail name: aka Grace"

For what it is worth-
Pete