Would Life Guards Have Saved Lives?

[phuketrichard]

Hello;

We have all heard the talk about an early warning system to be put in place for future tsunami's which will cost millions of dollars.

But we have heard that a small village in Rawaii in Phuket, although they lost homes and boats, not one live was lost. Why?

Because the elders knew from their parents that if the water ever started to go quickly out , RUN for the hills!

So all that was needed before the 26th was trained life guards on the beaches in Phuket and Khao lak.

How long after the water went out was it before the first wave hit? 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes?

Even after the first wave hit and receded, how many people returned towards the beach before the second wave hit.

Surely enough time for the life guards to blow their whistles and clear the beach.

I wonder why their were, and never have been, any life guards on the beach here in Phuket?

Surely the amount of people on the beach warrant it, wouldn't you think?

[taxexile]

I wonder why their were, and never have been, any life guards on the beach here in Phuket?

the reason why there were no life guards on the beaches of phuket is the same reason why there were no life jackets on the samui speedboat , why there were too many people on that boat , why that building that collapsed in bangkok was two or three stories higher than it should have been , why nobody wears crash helmets when riding bikes, etc,etc,etc.

laws are made but the police and other government organisations will not enforce them due to a combination of laziness , conflicts of interest and a total lack of responsibility towards the public they are meant to serve..

it's a characteristic of most third world undeveloped countries , of which thailand is one.

safety will eat into profit margins and there are cheaper ways of maintaining high profits without complying with rules and regulations.

Edited January 27, 2005 by taxexile

[phuketrichard]

I agree, but this time maybe a few people will wake up.

Without tourist there is no money and many people are without and will be without.

But your combining things that should not be combined.

Why they don't wear seat belts/helmuts/drive drunk is because they are thai, ( from thailand=free country) they feel they are above the laws.

Reason for no life jackets and buildings that collapse is MONEY!!!!!!!

BUt now that farangs have died here for no reason I hope they start to get it together.

[TizMe]

Why they don't wear seat belts/helmuts/drive drunk is because they are thai, ( from thailand=free country) they feel they are above the laws.

B.S.

They don't wear seat belts/helmuts/drive drunk because they are not punished for breaking the law. This same attitude is in many third world countries.

In the west people obey the laws because there are consequences if they do not.

[The_Moog]

Lifeguards - yes good idea.

SMS messages,

Loudspeakers

Breaks in television programming for announcements (wall to wall uninterrupted gameshows that sunday am)

Just do SOMETHING !!

Tourism Authority of Thailand is saying its safe to go back, everything is OK - yet - NO pre-emptive measures are yet in place - so why the ###### does the TAT automatically say this, its just PR babble.

We were all writing about the quake on Thaivisa half an hour before the tsunami hit.

[tuky]

BUt now that farangs have died here for no reason I hope they start to get it together.

see your point, but lets not forget that farangs die on the roads from not wearing helmets, not wearing seat belts and from drink driving, and even in building collapses/fires.

The biggest point is that no one, be they thai/indian/indoneasian/srilankan or farang should not die for no reason.

[The_Moog]

Quite like Tukyleith's logic here.

Ultimately, our safety is our own responsibility, not a Government's. Bad things do happen and its nature's way.

Its up to folk to weigh up the risks and decide for themselves if they will be safe in a situation they choose to put themselves in.

No matter what the Thai authorities say to reassure us about tsunamis, murderous Policemen, farangs tumbling from buildings, we have to make our own calls.

[britmaveric]

Somehow I suspect Lifeguards would have done a runner... reminds me of cruise ship that was sinking- crew abandoned ship and left the passengers to fend for themselves.

[Tornado]

Many stories about life guards in Phuket, if you ever to get a chance to go to Divers place ask him a few stories as he has saved 15 people in his years here.

He says that the majority of them cant even swim

[britmaveric]

Many stories about life guards in Phuket, if you ever to get a chance to go to Divers place ask him a few stories as he has saved 15 people in his years here.

He says that the majority of them cant even swim 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lifeguards who can't swim? As much as that surprises me...it really doesnt!

[Felt 35]

Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Sea rescue center will protect tourists

CHALONG: A 15-million-baht Sea Rescue Center is to be set up to coordinate emergency rescue operations off Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, it was revealed today.

The center, to be set up in Chalong, will become a nerve center for information about mishaps and accidents at sea, which will be gathered and disseminated to various marine agencies.

Phuket Gazette Wednesday, July 2, 2003

100 lifeguards to be trained

PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will train 100 volunteers to work as lifeguards at the island’s beaches and swimming pools.

The OrBorJor has set aside 454,000 baht to cover the five-day courses during August and September, organized by Phuket Marine Police, Wachira Phuket Hospital and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Phuket GazetteTuesday, October 14, 2003

B9m boost for beach guard service.

PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will spend more than 15 million baht next year on beach guards and equipment to boost water safety at Phuket beaches.

[phuketrichard]

Come on, we are getting off here. Life guards that can't swim thats a joke, no one would hire them,

I recall that annoucnment,

A few years ago in Patong they had life guards for half a high season, I think they all quit because it was "Mi sanuk", In fact I had a thai friend that was one, He told me that they were only paying 5,000 baht for 8 hours/6days!!

If they had life guards at the beach and even if they ran don't you think the others would see this and run along?

Granted that Farangs have died in motorcyle accidents and maybe elsewhere ( i don't think any have died in high rise or office buildings here) but not this many at one time from so many countries.

Plus the missing!! still over 4,000 plus.

The Bangkok post said yesterday 1,800 bodies are to be moved to Phuket for identification and it could take 6 months to finish.

WHAT!!!! there are teams from over 10 countries doing the dna testing and such. SO they can only do one body a day??

In my opinion this will all be a big cover up. So many unidentified dead with hotel uniforms that the hotels have not come forward to identify.

So the total dead is only the total IDENTIFIED dead. big diference.

Edited January 28, 2005 by phuketrichard

[taxexile]

Come on, we are getting off here. Life guards that can't swim thats a joke, no one would hire them,

the thais are are world class non-swimmers.

do you seriously think that the authorities would actually ask to see an applicant for the job do some swimming or lifesaving ?

do you think any taxi driver or tuk tuk driver has ever taken a driving test or medical.

i've been in a taxi in bangkok driven by a man with one eye. even his dashboard displayed licence had a picture of him with an eyepatch. (luckily it was a short trip!)

look at the so-called security guards on duty at condos and other public buildings , most of them dont exactly inspire confidence in the event of them ever having to take any action.

as another poster said , you have to assess each situation for yourself.

Edited January 28, 2005 by taxexile

[taxexile]

Sri Lanka survivor to sue state 

Mr Perera's wife and mother-in-law were swept away by the tsunami

A tsunami survivor is suing the Sri Lankan government, police and railways, for failing to protect him and his family from the disaster.

Priyantha Perera was among 3,000 passengers on a train swept away by the tidal waves, killing 1,000 people, including his wife and mother-in-law.

He accuses state authorities of not responding early enough and failing to mount an efficient rescue operation.

He wants to ensure Sri Lanka is better prepared for future catastrophes.

"If the government had been efficient enough to inform the people through loudspeakers or stopped the train in time, my wife would still be alive," Mr Perera, a radio presenter, told Reuters news agency.

"My life was not safeguarded by the authorities," he said. "I am hoping at least for some mechanism to secure people's lives."

i find this an interesting development , although it is in sri lanka and not here.

so long as the thais remain apathetic and disinterested about who governs them and looks after their welfare then they will always get governments that take advantage of the passive nature of the population.

if enough people protest and make a noise then change will slowly come about and the quality of the politicians and of government departments will improve.

[Petesear]

Why they don't wear seat belts/helmuts/drive drunk is because they are thai, ( from thailand=free country) they feel they are above the laws.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

B.S.

They don't wear seat belts/helmuts/drive drunk because they are not punished for breaking the law. This same attitude is in many third world countries.

In the west people obey the laws because there are consequences if they do not.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the west most people obey the laws because they are educated to do so, here, like all 3rd world countries, they are not.

[phuketrichard]

Petesear, not correct here in Phuket

EVERYONE now in Phuket has to take a test to get their license, no more 500 baht for it. So everyone knows that they MUST wear a seat belt and helmut, ( posters up everywear on the island) so the education is in place,

They chose not to because the laws are not for them but for the other person or they are poor.

I was stoped at a check point for no seat belt, they also stopped a thai driver in a pickup. He gave me a ticket for 300 baht but not the thai. I asked why and the police really told me becuse he had no money to pay the ticket!!

As far as the life savers THEY did have take a swiming test

Whats weird is you have all these guys that have tee shirts that say "beach guard" here. In the west this would be the same as a life guard but here they are just the peons that run the jet ski operation on the beach.

[TizMe]

In the west most people obey the laws because they are educated to do so, here, like all 3rd world countries, they are not.

I disagree. If the enforcement of helmet, seatbelt and drink driving laws were not done. The western riders/drivers would quickly revert to the same apathetic attitude that exists in these third world countries. I've even seen posts here in Thai Visa by western expats that doubt the effectiveness of airbags, seat belts and helmets.

TIZME AND BASHER; Very informative and intelligent posts,Do you have any documentation or are these very fine ideas your own?

I know a radiologist in Ensenada that would disagree that air bags are such neat things,her neck was broken because a car hit the front of hers at a speed of about 10 MPH and the airbag tore her seat loose and put her head in the back seat,so they are not such good things in all situations.There is also numerous litigation ongoing in the states because a number of children have been killed by air bags.

same as seat belts,sometimes they help and sometimes they hinder.I once went over on a D9 cat,I bailed on the first 1/4 roll,and it went on to the bottom of the hill,the cat was a total loss because it was all torn to pieces,but I just sat there on the ground and watched it scatter over about 100 meters of hillside. with the big 4 inch lap strap fastened I would have been smeared on the rock also as the roll cage came apart and the seat and fuel tank were torn off.

Not everything is fool proof, I can only speak for myself and from my own experiences,and helmets do not save lives.they might help in a very low speed wreck,but at higher speeds they are not that much of a plus,on the track they do help,but those are just go down and there are no cars or pickups involved,according to the info i got Dale Ernhardt's neck was broken because the weight of the helmet continued to go after his body had stopped.

While we have idiotic views like this out in the community, ONLY legislation and the ENFORCMENT of the legislation will continue to ensure the safety of citizens.

[mffun]

Oh i like this... -britmaveric- "Lifeguards who can't swim? As much as that surprises me...it really doesnt!"

OK, Lifeguard? NEVER!!! Real thinking, everyone must must alone look, what would like everyone and must even self secure. That is always the best Way. - Why you want wait what other people say, this really helps you, ok, I wishes you luck!

Edited January 28, 2005 by mffun

[Petesear]

I know this is slightly off the subject but I believe that it is education that makes people aware of dangers and hazzards, how many Thais even know what a life guard is? I think some might know the Pammy Anderson type.. The same goes for seatbelts, child seats etc etc.. Personally I would no more drive a car without wearing a seat belt than I would cross the road without looking both ways, these are things that I have learned to do and they've become habitual. I understand the dangers of not doing them. I don't feel the need to do without common sense because some of the locals do.

As for the warning signs in Phuket, are they in English or Thai? Who are they aimed at?

[phuketrichard]

signs are in english/thai and with an artist impression. Aimed at EVERYONE!

Can't say the thais don't know the law. They all have to take a written test and this is a quewstion on the test for motorcycle and car license. Like I said they feel that the laws do not apply to them ( except at the occassional police checkpoint where they DO put on their helmuts, ( then take them right off)

Its funny but since the tsunami struck I have seen not ONE police check point on the island and I travel a fair amount each day ( kamala-patong-phuket town)

Thai's know what life guards are, come on guys they are not living in the dark ages.

[gburns57au]

you would have to counter balance the need for lifeguards against a warning siren,

Most Thais dont go out in really deep water, prefering the shallows, most tourists just lay on the beach getting massages or skin cancer. There are only a few swimmers that go into depths where the employment of permanant lifeguards would be necessary. If a swimmer does get into trouble usually a jetski person or a boat would assist.

The warning sirens could be used for a variety of measures, Clear the beach, clear the water or swimmer in trouble. the people that rent out the beach chairs and the jetski/boat operators could assist with the clearing of the beach, water or swimmer alert.