Motorcyclist’s experience with SPOT messenger

"" My wife had to endure 3 hours of not knowing if I was alive/dead. She was on the road headed to Monterey hoping to find me in the hospital by the time I finally got cell reception and was able to call her. To say that she’s traumatized by the event is definitely an understatement. ""
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now , that particular wife would be in a world of xhit is she had a son stationed in the middle east.

… reads as if we're past the time she bumps up her game, and tones down the drama.
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just my op.

v.

Reading both of these was enlightening. As a SPOT user, I know the hardware and GEOS works (I used 911 once), but I'm not so confident about the local emergency response. This fellows experience shows two things pretty clearly:

(1) His expectation for response wasn't realistic. I think he was expecting something akin to the 911 response he enjoys in town – which isn't available when your out on the open road.

(2) Emergency response is coordinated at the local level and varies. It's not like on TV obviously – helicopters don't just fly out to your location.

Good read – thanks!

The guy's comment about "don't expect a fast response" is important. This is something a lot of people don't realize when they get a PLB or a SPOT- you can call for help, but help may be hours or even days away. In Alaska, where I live, the very conditions that can get you into trouble (inclement weather, rough terrain, etc) are the conditions that can delay a rescue. It's important that people attempt to self-rescue if possible, have the ability to administer first aid and basic medical care to an injured party member or themselves if they travel alone and enough safety gear to wait it out if they have to.

From the original post, they say a rider injured his leg. Was there a risk of the rider dying or losing a limb? There isn't enough information in the post to say if it warranted an SOS call from Spot but they had 20 riders with them and at least one was able to ride to a fire station 11 miles away and get help.

Here's how I use Spot:
Before each trip, I reiterate to my wife that an SOS call does not necessarily mean I am the one in need of help; it could be someone traveling with me or someone we find on the trail. A custom message could be set up that says "I am ok but am going to send an SOS because someone else needs help". An alternative custom message could be: "Canceling SOS. Other help has arrived already."

My conditions for triggering an SOS:
-I cannot self rescue
-No one is available to go for help in a reasonable amount of time
-not getting help in a reasonable amount of time will result in the loss of life or limb

Anything outside of the above conditions is what I use the Help button for. Someone may still need help but it is less urgent and just uses a personal network of family and friends to get it. Emergency services may still get called but it does not go through Geos.

I'd like to get other folks opinions on this approach.

I think you've got a good start. I think you are correct not viewing SPOT like the urban 911 service.

The biggest thing I've learned over the years with SPOT is that it is very important to think through who you have on your emergency contact list. GEOS always works down the phone list and if you are out of cell range (highly likely), and your wife turns off her phone or doesn't bother to answer it, and there is nobody else on the list – it leaves GEOS in a strange position.

When I researched this a couple years ago, the coast guard reported a 97% false alarm rate with EPIRBs (immersion-activated PLB carried on vessels). That made me realize that it is highly likely that the false alarm rate for SPOT is even higher. GEOS doesn't want to call out the cavalry for every 911 activation, which is why your list is important, but ultimately your life should not hang in the balance because the folks on your list won't answer their phones. So if nobody answers, I suspect, (but cannot prove), that GEOS hesitate to give the user a chance to clear the false 911 themselves. After some amount of time, (again I cannot prove this as I've not spoken to GEOS), they proceed assuming a real emergency. Whether or not this hesitation matters in the grand scheme of rescues – I don't know. It might with the Coast Guard since they usually fly out to you, and it might not in the Sawtooths of Idaho since it is up to the county sheriff to mobilize SAR.

So I take care who I put on my list, and I remind my wife when I head out on a trip that she needs to answer her phone. I've also created a web page spelling out the basics which everyone on the list has access to. My OK message has the URL of the page embedded in it and both Android and iPhone users seem to be able to pull up the page with map without problem (my wife has a dinosaur phone). The point here is that it is pretty easy for folks on my list to know what I'm up to and give a reasonable answer to GEOS on the likeyhood of a real emergency – even if I didn't leave a trip plan.

I'm going to guess that one of the biggest surprises for SPOT users is that SPOT works as advertised, but SAR takes time – certainly not as fast as 911 back home.