This whole thing is unfortunate and we probably don't need to point fingers. However, I suppose cartographers fall under the technical communications umbrella. I suppose they'll all be talking about this at their annual conference.
The best thing we can do is to learn from this: The number one survival rule is to stay in your car unless it is on fire or sinking. Your vehicle is easier to find than a lone person is. Your vehicle may be cold, but it will keep you dry and out of the wind. Share your body heat with others in the vehicle. Carry extra food when traveling in the winter. Go to a camping or hunting store and buy a few mylar emergency blankets. They're aluminized to help you retain radiant heat. They're amazing, weigh about an ounce and cost a couple bucks and worth their weight in gold during an emergency like this. As an experiment, my son sat outside wearing jeans and a shirt for 15 to 20 minutes with temps in the mid thirties by wrapping up in one of these. I think he could've gone longer, but he got bored. Don't try driving on remote, unplowed roads. Usually, they get worse instead of better. Lastly, make sure you have current maps. To emphasize the importance of staying with a vehicle, I'd like to relate an experience I had when I helped rescue three boaters from Lake Michigan. One was cold and wet, but somewhat mobile. He stayed with their mostly submerged boat. Two nearly died because they tried to swim for shore 3 to 4 miles away. They had life jackets, but they only made it 200 yards before getting too cold to move. We almost didn't see them amongst the waves. The boat drew our attention and we changed course to see what that strange thing was in the water. Had we not happened along, or had been a half-hour later, the two in the water wouldn't have made it. The guy on the boat probably wouldn't have made it through the night. So, stay with the vehicle, as a rule your chances for survival are much, much better. Thomas Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bonnie Granat Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 8:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [TCP] CNET Editor Death Caused by a Technical Communication Mistake? http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234880,00.html (Excerpt) Kati Kim told officers they were traveling south from Portland on Interstate 5 and missed the turnoff to a state highway, Oregon 42, that leads through the Coast Range to Gold Beach, where they planned to stay at a resort. Officers said the couple used a map to choose the road they were on. "They got the map out - a regular highway map - that showed the route," Anderson said. However, it wasn't clear whose map the couple used. The 2005-2007 state highway map distributed by the Oregon Department of Transportation has a warning in red print, inside a red box: "This route closed in winter." A Rand-McNally map did not have a similar warning. ---------- Bonnie Granat http://www.GranatEdit.com ______________________________________________ Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com -- your 3D documentation community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com ______________________________________________ Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com -- your 3D documentation community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
