What's the big idea?
'Online Routes Cards' is an entry to the GeoVation competition, and has been shortlisted for the showcase.
What's a route card?
Walkers and other outdoor people venturing into Britain's wild places have long been advised to create a route card,
detailing their intended route and return time, and to leave this with a responsible person. If they fail to return on time, this
information is useful in coordinating attempts to find the missing persons.
What's wrong with the existing solution?
There are several problems with using a traditional paper based route card. Firstly, it's tedious to create, so people tend not to bother.
The information on the route card then has to be sent to a responsible person. The responsible person has to realise somebody is
overdue, and then decide to alert the authorities. They then need to communicate relevant information to the emergency services.
Each step presents a potential failure point in the system, or a delay in response.
What are the consequences of getting in trouble in the mountains?
Every year an average of 50-60 people die on Britain's mountains and wild places. Many, many more are injured. The speed of
response to an emergency is critical to saving life. Cold and shock from an injury can turn a minor accident into a life threatening
situation, and a major injury into a fatality.
Why can't people just phone 999?
Many people already do. In fact in some areas the majority of 'callouts' by mountain rescue originate from
mobile phone calls to 999. However, mobile phone coverage can't be depended on in mountain areas, especially in the more remote
parts of Scotland. Nor does a mobile phone call supply all the relevant details if the person making the call is unable to
provide an accurate location for the casualty. We anticipate that online route cards complement mobile phones as a way of summoning help,
and provide a backup for times when it's not possible to use a mobile phone.
What about rescue helicopters?
The UK has search and rescue helicopter coverage provided by a variety of different government agencies such as the
Royal Navy, the Coastguard, and the RAF.
You may have seen these featured on TV programmes like Highland Rescue.
Helicopters provide a fantastic resource to search large areas, and recover causalities from otherwise difficult locations.
However, there is much demand on this service, and the extreme weather conditions found in mountain areas don't
always allow flying, as recent experience in the harsh winter conditions of the winter of 2010 has shown.
Although helicopter SAR is extremely valuable and has saved many lives, it is by no means the only solution to finding and
rescuing people. The existing ground based volunteer Mountain Rescue Teams (MRTs) are kept very busy and often work in
conjunction with helicopter assets.
The solution
The proposal is to bring route cards into the electronic age by creating a website which allows users to
register details about them, their intended route, and estimated return time.
Tools would be provided to help plan appropriate routes for the user’s ability and current conditions.
In event of the user failing to 'check in' after finishing their activity,
automatic messages will be sent to the designated emergency contact warning that the user has not be heard from,
and instructing them what to do next.
The details of the route and people attempting it can be then made available to the emergency services
if the designated emergency contact wishes to report the user as missing.
When a user plans a route, we can provide tools to assist in creating a suitable route. As it's easy
to calculate distance, and elevation gain, a time estimate can be calculated using Naismith's rule. Providing
users with relevant information such as weather forecasts, previous trip reports from the same area, and calculated
data such as sunrise and sunset times, can help user decide if a route is suitable for their ability and
current conditions. As many accidents happen to tired walkers returning after dark, helping ensure
this doesn't happen is a valuable tool in accident prevention. As many walkers live far from the mountains, they
are not always aware of current mountain conditions until they arrive, and may attempt routes beyond
their abilities. Although some of this information is already
available on the internet, providing the right information in one place, at the time somebody is planning a route
will help educate users as to what expect, and ensure they are suitable equipped.
Moving forward
As well as serving the needs of the UK hillwalking community, we anticipate our service will be of
use to others. Within the UK outdoor community, people such as kayakers, mountain bikers, and even
SCUBA divers operating from the shore will find parts of our service useful for piece-of-mind.
In fact, anybody venturing into the ourdoors, who'd like make some provision for letting somebody know where they have gone,
in case if they don't return on time. Not just in the UK, but across the world, as the same problems exist and can be solved with
the same solution worldwide.
Our Aim
To provide technical solutions which promote the safe enjoyment of Britain's wild places
How we do this
- Educate people on safe mountain and hill recreation
- Assist hillwalkers and other outdoor users to plan an appropriate route
- Alert a designated responsible person if an outdoor user is overdue
- Provide a means to efficiently pass details of overdue outdoor users to the emergency
services if required