Photo of Vlad The Impaler, Shown in a restaurant in Romania. Reminder to watch out for unfriendly locals and do not antagonize the government of the country you are visiting. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
ProblemsAreas notorious for accidents:
People in icy conditions
People in steep conditions
People in hot conditions
People get lost
People get injured
Attacks by animals
Phone lost
Attack by humans
Vehicle goes off-road and can't be seen nor found
Answers
These ideas are not necessarily sufficient. They are a starting point for your own checklist. Even if this is all obvious to you, you might want to remind a group of children you are escorting.
PLANNING
Do a health and safety assessment before any journey. If you are driving on holiday and are likely to get out of the car when you see a trail or viewpoint, plan ahead.
Practice. Indoor ski slope. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Two of us said, "Come on, only half an hour away!"
However, our driver said, "A waterfall which is half an hour away is a one-hour return journey - plus stops to rest, eat, take photos. Then we will have to drive in the dark to reach our hotel in the next city by nightfall."
Also, if you have water for a hike. - remember you are going both ways. Wear proper shoes and clothes.
SUPPLIES
Keep warming blankets in the car for overnight in case the vehicle breaks down.
Wear waterproof boots in rainy areas. You may come to puddles blocking paths, teaming with wildlife. (I encountered yellow-bellied toads in a pond formed in a path in Romania.)
Notify where you are going and when you will be back. Tell them your route.
Take a map, plot the route, and note where you might take a wrong right or left turn.
Take enough food and water.
SURVIVAL
Learn what you can eat in that area (survival guides)
Consult local people.
Have sealed food and drink. (In some area such as Canada, Romania, Bulgaria, sandwiches can attract wildlife such as bears).
PHONE FOR HELP
Learn the local emergency phone numbers. Record them on your phone.
When your phone is locked you may still make emergency calls.
I took this photo of an ambulance in Romania to learn the word for ambulance. The ambulance cleverly has the phone number you dial for ambulances on the back. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
WHAT TO BUY
SPOT gps satellite emergency Transmitter tells people where you are.
Paper for a paper trail.
Lay a paper trail, like a paperchase, so you can find your way back and rescuers can follow you.
Have a phone attached to your body, so if you jump out of a burning car in an accident you can call for help. (Otherwise, you jump out and your phone is left behind so you can't call for help.)
Or tie ribbons which you retrieve on your return.
Carry a phone charger and a second phone - one on the car windscreen, another in your pocket in case you have to jump out of a vehicle. Keep a device for cutting a seatbelt in case you are trapped. (Inexpensive. Available by mail order.)
ESCAPE
Plan escape route in any vehicle such as a plane or train.
If you are trapped in the front of the car by the damaged door, climb out of passenger side or out of the back. If all four doors are jammed, you could or even lower seats and get out of the car boot. (Americans call it the trunk. Find out if you can open the boot from the inside. Some modern cars are designed to let a person escape from being deliberately or accidentally trapped in a car boot.)
Plan escape from your hotel bedroom.
Check you have the back door key and it is kept handy where you can feel for it in the dark.
Do a regular fire drill with the family so adults and children and visitors know how to escape with you or when you are absent.
OBSERVE RULES Cliffs: Don't take selfies sitting on the edge of a cliff.
Don't jump up and down on the edge of a cliff (danger of falling over or starting a landslide).
Don't climb over barriers. (A boy in Singapore wanted a selfie on what he thought was a marble ledge below the barrier. It was a tromple l'oeuil and he fell through.)
Don't drive around barriers in the road. (We took a shortcut along an unmade road past a barrier in the mountains in the USA. Halfway along was a rock fall. We had to either back or do a three-point turn. If the sign had said rock fall instead of road closed the driver would have heeded it.)
Be smart and stay safe.
Know the locations of shelters.
Ambulance. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
What Authorities Can DoMultilingual Warning signs
Barriers
Shelters
Colour code paths, easy and difficult. This enables you to choose level of difficulty. Also helps you check which path you are on. (This was done on some trails with alternative routes.)
Signpost: length of route; and time taken; and emergency phone numbers.
Signboards showing poisonous plants and edible plants.
First aid kits in vehicles.
Train vehicle guides or drivers in health and safety and CPR (revival).
Don't just say Keep Out. Say why.
Give emergency numbers at all points.
Provide shelters.
and signs to next turning point.
Give directions signs, times and distances on all trail Y junctions.
Driving Accidents
Keep animals behind barriers, not on your lap nor passenger seat.
Passengers should not lean arms or head out of cars, buses or trains (might hit objects or attract lions in safari parks).
HOUSE FIRES in Homes, Holiday Homes, Guest Houses and All-Suite Hotels With Kitchens and Gardens
Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers. Check batteries and update equipment yearly. Watch out for common causes of fires:
1 Candles.
2 Chip pans.
3 Ovens used to store flammable items.
4 Irons or ovens left on by forgetting or turning the wrong switch. (One of my neighbours.)
5 Grease in ovens never cleaned eventually catching fire. (Another student when my son was a student.)
6 Electric blankets. Ours caught fire. Don't just beat down flames. They re-start.
TURN OFF SWITCH AT WALL!
7 The fire below was caused by a weed killer.
8 Don't answer the phone and leaving items unattended.
Garden Fire. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Balconies
Don't climb up to balconies or down from balconies. Don't lean over. Don't overload with too many people. Don't allow drunks to lark about on balconies.
In the UK schools and scouting groups are required to have one adult for every ten children. If one child decides their brother or sister wants to come along, you need another adult.
You would need a minimum of two adults to leave one person with somebody who is injured and a second person to escort the others safely back to base.
You would also need two adults or escorts if your group consists of one group of fast walkers and one group of slow walkers.
Grading Groups
On a trek through Romania, our group of thirty was divided into three sections. One was the slow group including novices, the elderly, those without special shoes. A second group was the seasoned hikers doing a normal trail. A third group was the toughies who would climb ladders up vertical walls, do steep ascents and back before nightfall.
We were divided rather like skiers on ski slopes, into bunny slopes, intermediate slopes, and advanced or black runs. (Off-piste would another story, requiring jackets with finding devices in case you were buried in an avalanche and rescuers needed to find you quickly. You can buy a jacket with a built-in device, or buy one separately.)
I find it useful to look at stories and videos of survival or rescue teams. I am an avid researcher. Find out what those people who survived or rescued others were carrying with them.
Local Louts And Human Dangers
Here he is again. He is watching you. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Health & Safety AdviceYour government will issue advice on visiting other countries. You need to know about visas and safety. The USA and the UK have government sites giving information on visas and safety in other countries. A third source of information on safety is Wikitravel.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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