I received this comment following my blog about taking out insurance if you are going to practice any form of extreme sport. I thought it was worth putting out for general consumption!

“I read your comments about participants in extreme sports needing to have insurance to cover the costs of rescue efforts. I completely agree that this should be done: it is bad enough to (potentially) expect rescuers to put their lives on the line for a rescue, but it is unacceptable to expect taxpayers to foot the bill for rescues of people who have taken foolish risks.

No doubt you have read “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”. I have and was completely turned off by his lack of consideration for his family and others…given his conduct before he got trapped, it was a matter of time before he was injured or killed in some extreme situation, probably entailing a dangerous rescue. There are quite serious moral issues at stake here…

Of course there is no way to force people to do this, but it should become ingrained in the ethics of these sports that, in participating, you must not place rescuers at undue risk and you should be in a position to pay for rescue costs. That would (might) be expensive and put quite a few people off, but so be it.”

That comment comes from a responsible person who, himself, practices various forms of extreme sport.

Food for thought…

Related posts:

1. Rescued Divers' Heroes or Fools?
2. Check small print on travel insurance for extreme sports
3. Insure or bust
4. “When You See That Look of Fear in Their Eyes, You Know This Really Means Something!”
5. Joshua Tree is worth visiting if you love your climbing

One Response to “A comment worth reading”