Incredible story.
As I'm new to all this, I find it amazing that things like this are just open to the public. I mean, it's fantastic that they are but my god some people need a very stiff talking to indeed.
Surely the way around this is for the person who takes the call at MRS to have a standard thing they say along the lines of "just to make it clear, you will be assessed at the scene and if you're deemed to be ok you will be left where you are and charged the cost of the call out"
Surely then the person in trouble, or "in trouble" would make the sensible decision, or deal with the consequences of their ridiculous decision?
We're far too soft on these people I think!
I don't agree, because I do know people who just wouldn't call in that situation when it was absolutely the right time to do so.
In Spain they close off oaths in times of bad weather and it is publicized that call outs will cost a lot. For instance the Napoleon Route over the Pyrenees is closed between November and the end of march, and if you choose to go the other route and get caught or get into difficulties you will be charged, this is a law in Navarre.
If you are found on the closed route you will get a fine that can go up to 12.000
If you need to be rescued, you can add the cost of the rescue party, which will be entirely yours to pay.:
30/h for each rescue worker65/h for the ambulance30/h for any other vehicle1.360/h for air rescue1.400/h for a rescue helicopterPersonally I would only agree to charges if routes and public were closed paths in times of bad weather.
But as many members of MRS are aware that they give their time and expertise freely. If they do not want to help idiots then they will quickly leave the service.
There is an argument that by volunteering they are allowing the Government off the hook since, in my opinion, they should be paid for and supported by us the taxpayer. (So should the RNLI)
I don't agree, because I do know people who just wouldn't call in that situation when it was absolutely the right time to do so.
In Spain they close off oaths in times of bad weather and it is publicized that call outs will cost a lot. For instance the Napoleon Route over the Pyrenees is closed between November and the end of march, and if you choose to go the other route and get caught or get into difficulties you will be charged, this is a law in Navarre.
If you are found on the closed route you will get a fine that can go up to 12.000
If you need to be rescued, you can add the cost of the rescue party, which will be entirely yours to pay.:
30/h for each rescue worker65/h for the ambulance30/h for any other vehicle1.360/h for air rescue1.400/h for a rescue helicopterPersonally I would only agree to charges if routes and public were closed paths in times of bad weather.
But as many members of MRS are aware that they give their time and expertise freely. If they do not want to help idiots then they will quickly leave the service.
There is an argument that by volunteering they are allowing the Government off the hook since, in my opinion, they should be paid for and supported by us the taxpayer. (So should the RNLI)
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Jim that's cool mate, I don't agree with you either!
;D
To me that's just pandering to stupidity in the other direction. If someone is going to try and walk down a mountain on a broken ankle because they don't want to call out the rescue service then that's their look out in my opinion. However I'm sure there would be many many less of those sort though. In my experience badly broken bones have a way of giving you some very good clarity!
:)
I've had to use helicopters for filming work and I'm well aware of the costs to get anything in the air for any use. As soon as it becomes highly specialised it jumps through the roof. With good reason.
And that's exactly my point. If we can make stupid people think twice before doing stupid things, all the better I think. And if they're going to go ahead and do it anyway, then absolutely they should be accountable. Obviously there is some grey area, like if there was someone up there who had behavioural or emotional issues, that's a different story of course. But for the most part, it's us as a nation pampering and nannying these idiots that makes them think it's ok. If suddenly faced with a £10k bill, they might think before hand a bit... hopefully.
Closing places to the public. I'm not so sure on this one. Maybe a permit system would be better. As a for instance, I don't know your skill level but there's a fair chance it's a good bit better than mine. There may be outings in bad weather that I wouldn't dream of, nor be capable of, yet you might be able to run up there. Why should you not be allowed to do it because I stupidly went ahead and did it anyway and got myself into a situation? Ha, or just got wet!
As for the government and tax bit... that's a double edged sword. Absolutely of course they should be sorting things out and paying the experts accordingly but they don't and we have what we have. However, if the government was to take over, something will have to lose money to pay for it, it's not like they'll organise themselves and find some way of stopping wasting money to pay for it... Plus there will then be targets and other silly systems in place. ETA: Your point about proper training and equipment is a good one, but you only need to look at the state of some of the services the government provide to have a very clear indicator that it's not for certain it would be the big boost in the quality of the service we'd hope it would be...
It's probably a LOT better as it is, just that no one should have to volunteer and not get adequate renumeration for the immensely difficult work they do and the situations they put themselves in.
Bloody amazing job these folks do. I absolutely take my hat off to them and feel that anyone taking the mickey of of such an incredible service should have a rocket up their backside!
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