Safety Week 2014 – plan and prepare for a safe summer

Safety Week 2014 – MSC encourages people to plan and prepare for a safe summer

With summer officially underway next week, the Mountain Safety Council is getting behind ACC’s Safety Week 2014 and encouraging New Zealanders to plan ahead and prepare before heading into New Zealand’s great outdoors.

Safety Week runs from 24 – 30 November and this year focuses on preventing alcohol and sport and recreation related injuries.

Mountain Safety Council Acting Operations Manager Nathan Watson said a little bit of planning went a long way to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience in the outdoors.

“Summer is a great time to get out and experience everything our country has to offer. However, with more people spending more time in the great outdoors, we see an increase in accidents and injuries.

“Last year, 5,491 people nationwide were injured mountain biking, 3,867 were injured tramping, 1,312 were injured hunting, and 143 were injured while mountaineering, and that’s just the injuries reported to ACC,” Mr Watson said.

He encouraged people to check out the five simple rules of the Outdoor Safety Code – plan your trip, tell someone, be aware of the weather, know your limits and take sufficient supplies – before heading into the outdoors.

“It sounds simple enough but you’d be surprised how often it’s the seemingly simple stuff that trips people up.”

Mr Watson stressed the importance of making smart decisions and the dangers of becoming complacent.

“It’s not only those with little outdoor experience that can get caught out, experienced outdoorspeople need to adequately plan and prepare too.

“When you are hours away from anywhere, something like a sprained ankle or sudden heavy rain, which would normally be insignificant, can pose a real problem if you haven’t told someone where you’re going and when to expect you back or if you don’t have enough food, water or warm clothes,” he said.

More information on how to enjoy New Zealand’s great outdoors safely this summer can be found on the Mountain Safety Council’s website www.mountainsafety.org.nz.

The New Zealand Outdoor Safety Code:

1. Plan your trip
Seek local knowledge and plan the route you will take and the amount of time you can reasonably expect it to take.

2. Tell someone
Tell someone your plans and complete written Outdoors Intentions BEFORE leaving on your trip.

Use the free tools that make it easy on the www.adventuresmart.org.nz website. At the very least, tell a friend or family member where you are going and date and time to raise the alarm if you haven’t returned.

3. Be aware of the weather
New Zealand’s weather can be highly unpredictable. Check the forecast and expect weather changes. Check track and hut conditions. Beware of rivers – if in doubt STAY OUT.

4. Know your limits
Challenge yourself within your physical limits and experience. Take a Mountain Safety Council course.

5. Take sufficient supplies
Make sure you have enough food, clothing, equipment and emergency rations for the worst-case scenario. Take an appropriate means of communication such as a Mountain Radio or Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) and know how to use them.

About the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council
The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (MSC) is a national organisation with a mandate from our member organisations to encourage safe participation in land-based outdoor activities.

We facilitate the setting of standards, offer training and education opportunities, create and distribute resources, lead public awareness campaigns and foster positive support in the community so that more people can discover and enjoy New Zealand’s outdoors safely.

www.mountainsafety.org.nz
www.avalanche.net.nz
www.adventuresmart.org.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media