Should we be allowed Personal Locator Beacons?

Many hill walkers head off the beaten track, particularly those enjoying their new found right to roam over open Access land. However, experienced walker Dave Currie expresses a note of caution for those venturing out alone - following an incident that could have resulted in the death of a friend.

Hill walkers suffering a stroke or heart-attack need to be located quickly if they are to survive. Dave argues that their rescue could be delayed because personal locator beacons are illegal for use in a UK land-based emergency.

It's impossible to get a mobile signal in many parts of the countryside accessed by walkers, climbers or mountain bikers. Mobiles rely on land-based masts relaying messages. Such masts are, understandably, unpopular with planners and organisations established to protect the natural beauty of the countryside. Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), on the other hand, transmit their signals directly to satellites, which means that if you can see the sky then your distress signal and GPS co-ordinates can be transmitted to the emergency services. Many also work from under a forest canopy.

Dave Currie is concerned that the government is dragging its feet over the issue of licensing PLBs for land use. "The Countryside Rights of Way Act (CROW) opened up 3,200 square miles of new countryside to walkers. Much of it is wilderness. The government has given walkers the right to roam off the beaten track – yet has failed to back-up emergency safety measures by allowing the use of PLBs on land."

Dave, 59, who lives in North Yorkshire is a new convert to PLBs. Recently his friend had a heart attack whilst they were climbing England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike. "My companion and I were heading towards the summit. He suddenly stopped - and I realised he was having a heart attack. I needed help quickly. No one responded to my emergency whistle and I was unable to get a mobile signal. So I had no alternative but to leave him alone and climb higher until I got a signal. Thankfully, I eventually did. The air ambulance arrived and my companion was treated on the spot by a doctor, then flown to hospital. Thanks to the emergency services' prompt response he suffered only minor heart damage."

At the time of the incident Dave was simply pleased that - with no one else around to help - he'd been able to call the emergency services on his mobile. Back home he started thinking: "If I had been walking alone and had a heart attack I'd have been unable to climb higher in order to pick up a mobile signal...which means I'd probably have died out on the mountain."

PLBs are about the size of a mobile phone. They cost from around £250 and are legal for use at sea and by pilots of light aircraft. Dave understands concerns expressed about PLBs by some rescue organisations. "They are worried about an increase in frivolous call-outs and the fact that you can't use a PLB to talk to the emergency services to relay key information. Being able to talk to the emergency services is the ideal. However, if you can't get a signal on your mobile - and no one responds to your emergency whistle - then PLBs can be a real life-saver.”

Dave argues that, given the cost and the fact that they cannot be used for voice conversations, PLBs will only be carried by experienced walkers and are unlikely to be used in anything other than an emergency. If you have views on this issue, or experience of using a PLB, we’d be delighted to hear from you.