I agree, and heard of life guard trucks running over people on west coast beaches also,
one came very near us on Ocean Beach, in San Diego.
Mostly, I would excuse it, for the fact that they have a job to do, and may be responding to an emergency.
Yes. Particularly if his job title and job description is LIFEGUARD.
But if they’re responding to an emergency, they should have lights and sirens going.
I live in San Diego, and spend half the summer on the beach. There are always vehicles around, from ATVs through to large 4x4 pickup trucks and SUVs. Those vehicles have colored rooftop lights, loudspeakers, and sirens. If they need to get to an emergency, they need to be as loud and as obvious as possible.
For the most part, the people driving the emergency vehicles on the beach around here do so very slowly and carefully, especially if they’re just patrolling, and especially if it’s crowded.
The beaches here run for miles at a time, and there are often long stretches where few people swim or surf, but where the lifeguards still need to patrol. They would be far slower and far less efficient if they had to do it on foot, not to mention that using a vehicle allows them to carry rescue equipment, medical supplies, and other stuff that they couldn’t lug with them if they were walking.
You’re right - they’re trying to save people’s lives, and it doesn’t matter how many people they have to kill to do it!
Wrong.
Previous Colorado Mountain Search and Rescue member here.
The absolute thing that you NEVER do is put bystanders, team members or yourself at risk.
In that order.
The absolute last thing you want to have happen is have rescuers create casualties.
Hey, if you don’t like the way I drive, get off of the beach!
I’m seriously having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of vehicles on the beach. I think I’ve seen that once. In Florida, maybe?
The lifeguard that was driving was female, though that doesn’t preclude her checking out someone she found attractive, obviously.
Why can’t they construct a raised road along the back of the beach, so that 1) it doesn’t get sand all over it, and 2) people won’t want to lay out on it? Like a raised wooden boardwalk (or heck, asphalt). You know, like a road that people are expecting to be driven on? Instead of sand, which nobody is expecting to be driven on?
I grew up in the dunes of Northwest Indiana and don’t recall *ever *hearing about an incident like this. I also never saw a vehicle being driven on the beach. But the beaches I went to tended to be laissez-faire like that. Swim at your own risk, the lifeguard station will probably never be manned.
Not possible on some beaches, but that’s an idea for really wide and long beaches. If it’s asphalt, it’s going to detract from the beauty of the beach, and other drivers will want to use it. If it’s a boardwalk, I guarantee that people will lie on it.
Well, there is a public street that already runs along the beach. There really isn’t that much lifeguard traffic that would require a dedicated road, which would take away valuable beach-goer real estate.
As crowded as the beaches of Ft. Lauderdale can get, this is the first time anyone has been run over. This incident has prompted a review of allowing lifeguards to routinely drive heavy vehicles on the beach, but the lifeguard association is insisting the trucks are necessary.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-sunbathers-run-over-20120416,0,1345216.story
I wonder if a hovercraft would be a better idea than a truck here.
For one, it could be driven into the water. For another, it could pass over people with minimal injury (usually around .2 psi underbody pressure. For a third, it would be so loud that anyone would get out of the way.
But they are much, much harder to control, specially when you have to weave around all the people. That, and the ungodly noise, would make them a terrible fit for the task.
Wouldn’t it also kick up an enormous cloud of sand (if it were running on dry sand)?
Has the law changed recently? Pedestrians have always had the right of way in crosswalks unless there is a control signal indicating Don’t Walk here (in Wisconsin) Otherwise the do NOT necessarily have the right of way.
WTF the lifeguard should expect people on the beach and should SLOW DOWN and have a look. Stupid and irresponsible IMO
They DO go very slow, it’s not like they’re driving any faster than ~5 mph. From the few details in the news about this incident, it sounds like the lifeguard came to a stop after her front wheels ran over the lady, but before her real wheels did. She couldn’t have been going very fast if she was able to do that.
Quoted for a lot of truth, loads and loads of it.
Count me among the people who can’t see where the run-over lady was in any way responsible. I’ve been to a lot of beaches, and it has never occurred to me that I was supposed to clearly indicate my location.
I will have to remember to bring a flashing light atop a pole on my next beach trip. Maybe a constantly wailing klaxon for good measure.
Having grown up in South Florida, it has never been common to bring something that makes it obvious you’re at the beach other than a towel, some sunscreen, and maybe a cooler with food in it. When we get to the beach during the day, we’re either walking because it’s an unplanned visit, or we’ve got our big market umbrella with us so that I have some shade for my incredibly pale skin.
The sunbather is in no way at fault for this, and those driving lifeguard vehicles on the beach really do need to be more careful to no injure folks in the process of saving someone’s life.
I would never in a million years have come up with this as a possibility against which I needed to protect myself. I do use a brightly colored beach towel, but mainly so I can find it again after swimming.