That "stay with the car" rule also applies in the heat of the Australian outback where survival in scorching temps is as critical as survival in freezing temps. The survival strategies differ in a few respects, but in the main are the same. Planes and helicopters can spot a car - not so easy to spot a person. Too many have died by wandering away from the car looking for help - some of those roads don't see traffic for a week.
Rhonda Rhonda Bracey http://www.cybertext.com.au AuthorIT Certified Consultant -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Thomas Johnson Sent: Thu 12/7/2006 11:46 PM To: 'Bonnie Granat'; [email protected] Subject: Re: [TCP] CNET Editor Death Caused by a Technical CommunicationMistake? 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] ______________________________________________ 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
