Personal Locator Beacons or Personal Body Locators?
More Articles Related to Survival GearPersonal Locator Beacons are a double edged sword when it comes to wilderness survival.
Like avalanche beacons, satellite phones and other electronic safety devices used in the outdoors, personal locator beacons may cause those who carry them to feel they can engage in risky behavior simply because they have a backup – namely the local search and rescue services.
Failure to take care of yourself may turn your personal locator beacon into a Personal BODY Locator.
Do Not Rely Upon Electronic Devices to Save You
I have seen an attitude just as dangerous a number of times here on Survival Topics. In discussions about proper survival preparedness inevitably someone will state there is little need for survival gear, preparation, and knowledge when all they need is to “just carry a cell phone”.
As the theory goes, when you get into trouble in the wilderness merely make your rescue service call and rest easy because help is on the way. In fact, why plan, prepare, train, or exercise due caution at all when you have such great backup? Just carry a personal location device and you are safe!
This attitude combined with wilderness survival realities is what makes wilderness search and rescue calls to those using personal locator beacons a thorny subject. Those who plan to travel and survive in the wilderness need to exercise first and foremost proper judgment according to their abilities, equipment, and the conditions.
Failure to take care of yourself may turn your personal locator beacon into a Personal BODY LocatorFailure to do so should not be grounds to fire up your personal locator beacon for rescue from the outside.
A Personal Locator Beacon May Not Always Function
Experienced survival experts know cell phones, GPS units, and personal locator beacons do not always function even in ideal conditions. Depending upon the device, rugged mountainous areas and rural areas often have spotty reception, if any at all. And there are a host of other reasons outdoor electronic positioning and communication devices may not work including damage, battery life, and user incapacitation.
Personal Locator Beacons Encourage Risk Taking
Before the advent of personal locator beacoms and other devices, going into the back country often meant limited options should something go wrong. Knowing that they are on their own in case of emergency causes adventurers to plan for contingences or avoid unacceptable risk taking altogether. But feeling that rescue from mistakes and miscalculation is just the press of a button away may very well encourage some people to take on larger risks or forego full preparations because a rescue backup is in place.
Personal locator beacons and search and rescue services become just another tool toward the objectives of the risk taker.
When Should You Use a Personal Locator Beacon?
When is it appropriate to use a personal locator beacon for rescue or evacuation? This is an issue that still needs to be defined and resolved.
Typically personal locator beacons are meant to be used during life threatening conditions, the definition of which is difficult to nail down. Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes such conditions and their own tolerance to endure.
Personal location beacons and search and rescue services become just another tool toward the objectives of the risk taker.
For example, pretty much all winter hiking in the higher latitudes and elevations is by definition in life threatening conditions. Simply because someone in the wilderness becomes exhausted or sprains an ankle - does that entitle them to contact search and rescue for help in extraction?
I feel that rescue should not be attempted until the party involved expends all efforts in rectifying the problem of rescuing themselves. These include the building of shelter and fire, and self-extraction. Only when all available means of survival are exhausted and the threat of demise of an individual likely should a rescue effort be mounted.
Alternatives to Personal Locator Beacons
Proper planning, preparation, and self-knowledge will go far in making personal location beacons unnecessary.
The best way to locate people missing in the wilderness is by viewing the itinerary they left with a trusted source before heading out including:
- Planned Route
- Expected times to be at easily identifiable locations
- Possible alterations to that route
- Agreed meeting places should members of the party become separated
- Health and general condition at outset including medicines
- Gear taken including navigational aids, signaling, food, water, clothing, and shelter materials
- Emergency contact information including family, doctors, etc.
Likewise the best way to be rescued from a wilderness survival situation is by self-rescue. Always have:
- Proper equipment for the conditions you may possibly encounter.
- the means to make fire
- the means to set up or make shelter
- the means to disinfect water
- extra food
- extra proper clothing for the conditions
- signaling equipment including whistle and signal mirror
- Navigation equipment including map, compass, and perhaps a GPS unit. Know how to use them.
- Basic first aid kit.
- Basic survival kit
- experience using the basic survival skills
- Knowing when to abort your efforts when the level of risk becomes too high.
Personal locator Beacons can have their place in wilderness survival. However the potential for abuse is great.
Rather than carry a Personal Locator Beacon you may be better off bringing extra survival gear and depending upon your survival training, experience, and equipment to make the right decisions and take care of yourself should something unplanned occur. That will eliminate the need for search and rescue services, and Personal Locator Beacons.
Anchorage, Alaska
I think there is also a distinction that ought to be made between situations on land and situations in marine waters. I think it is the case that bad situations on marine waters can morph into an emergency situation much more readily than bad situations on land. I am much more apt to take a PLB out to sea boating (always) than when out hiking around.
Survival Topics - I agree with your point, Jan. Thank you for your views on this.
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Mukilteo, WA
Yikes! I couldn't disagree more! PLBs are life saving devices and extremely reliable. I believe it's a mistake to focus on the minority that might take additional risk. The overwhelming majority are responsible individuals and should NOT be discouraged from carrying a PLB just in case they get injured or stranded. This article actually seems to promote the more dangerous opinion held by some which is overconfidence that by being adequately prepared you can survive all unanticipated conditions or events. That's simply not true and the rescue data availble proves that.