Seeing danger around every corner. Can it be a good thing?

Very steep steps

In my previous life I was a crisis management consultant in the travel industry. I would often conduct training sessions with clients, and as the main part of the day I would construct a nightmare scenario that would take place on one of the client’s tours. It might be a coach crash, a terrorist attack or a hotel fire; we would test the senior management team’s ability to respond to an unfolding drama by feeding them pieces of new information every few minutes. As they were discussing how to deal with the latest development, something else would change the focus and their priorities, just as in a real crisis. They had to work out how to deal with the media, the families of those affected, other concerned customers and of course their own staff.

My first flight in a Chinese built MA-60

Now whenever I travel the thoughts of these scenarios often resurface. When we check into a hotel, I am aware of the fire exits, and am conscious when we get a room above the 5th floor that it is beyond the reach of the tallest firefighters’ ladder (although I still take it as I love the views from high floors). When we trundle across terrible roads in the middle of nowhere I wonder how long it would take for us to get medical help if our bus skidded into the adjacent ravine. And as someone who has had a morbid fascination with air accidents since childhood coupled with a long-term but thankfully subdued fear of flying, I might scan the satellite map on a long-haul flight, hypothesising where we might have to make an emergency landing if that funny noise is actually something very serious.

It leads me to the thought that while those travelling as part of a group may have a tour company’s crisis management procedures to help them in a disaster, who will help us as independent travellers if things go wrong?  A previous 501 Places post gave 6 tips for a personal travel emergency plan describing how to help others to track your whereabouts if a disaster occurs in the place you are visiting. But what about helping yourself in such a situation? Here are a few thoughts:

At least mum has a helmet

1. First Aid training. For a small investment in time before you go you could well gain the knowledge that will save your own life, or that of your partner or a stranger.

2. If you are somewhere remote, be aware of the nearest decent medical facilities and how you would reach them from your current location. (In Laos and Cambodia for example whoever we spoke to, including those working in the medical field, told us in no uncertain terms to get to Bangkok in an emergency rather than the local hospitals).

3. When buying travel insurance don’t buy on price alone. Policies differ greatly on their air evacuation procedures and their arrangements with international hospitals. The last thing you want is to be stopped at the door of the hospital while your credit card is being authorised.

4. If your instinct tells you it’s not safe, don’t do it. Few places are as health and safety obsessed and terrified of litigation as the UK and the US, and as a result we have warning signs everywhere. We are warned that our coffee will be hot or that our bag of peanuts may contain nuts. But when we leave our sheltered shores, we suddenly discover temples with steep steps and no handrails, buses that cram in three times the number of passengers we would consider normal and ten-storey buildings with a single narrow staircase.

It is then up to us, and no-one else, to decide what is an acceptable risk for us to take and where we decide that we are not prepared to take a risk. We are not bound by fears of lawsuits or media damage. For us it’s a very personal decision, and while other travellers might be happy to take a risk it’s perfectly ok for someone else to step away. Being familiar with the unhealthy restraints put on companies to protect themselves from negative publicity and legal action, it’s refreshing to travel independently and make those decisions based on common sense and instinct. And the only person who is accountable for these decisions? Ourselves.

Related post: Play it safe while travelling – how to reduce the risk of accidents and still have fun

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2 Responses to “Seeing danger around every corner. Can it be a good thing?”

  1. Do you have any recommendations for basic first aid training? i.e. Local hospitals? Outdoor activities groups? Independent instructors?

    January 18, 2010 at 6:43 pm Reply
  2. In the UK we have St Johns Ambulance who offer courses in workplaces and for private groups. Not sure on US providers but if anyone can offers suggestions I’ll post them here.

    January 18, 2010 at 6:49 pm Reply

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