to think you should pay Mountain Rescue expenses?

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If you are dense enough to head off into the Cairngorms without a map, compass and with only an app on your phone to navigate with?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-45963727

Mountain rescuers spent 6 hours searching for these numpties who were 17 miles from where they should have been.

In those circumstances, yes, I think they should but realistically how would you enforce it?

Yes, and same for the lifeboat. Most people wouldn't need rescuing if they used even basic common sense.

Mountain Rescuers and Lifeboat crew are all volunteers who risk their own lives, and I don't know about Mountain Rescue, but RNLI don't receive any govt. funding.

Yes definately.
Both these are manned by volunteers and locals have to fund raise to support them. These people spend hours of thier own time training, away from.home, fund raising and risk thier lives to save idiots who don't have an ounce of common sense. Who the fuck thinks they can just have a jolly little walk up a mountain without being prepared?

There should be a charge of what it cost to rescue them if its due to total stupidity (of course its not always idiots who.need rescuing) - fuel, time, equipment, etc enforcable, based on income.

I would say not. That could easily lead to a situation where someone needs Mountain Rescue, doesn't call anybody because they aren't able or willing to pay, and gets themselves into worse trouble. It would cause fatalities. It's not great that people do such silly things, but money isn't everything.

Yes in principle but in practice it would only be middle income people with moderate assets who ever actually paid.

Those with nothing couldn't and the wealthy would set up their assets so they didn't pay either.

I get annoyed by these people but they won’t charge because some genuine people won’t call or delay calling for fear of being charged.

I work closely with the coastguard and they have a situation outcome which is officially known as giving ‘some advice’. I overheard this advice once and it turned the air blue and scared the birds from the trees.

My suggestion of checking for idiocy and then just leaving them there is apparently also unworkable 😂😂

Yes, if you recklessly put yourself in danger, you should have to pay 100% of costs. People put their lives on the line for you. No, if you are taken ill or break your ankle walking along a path

Yes Yanbu these eejits thought they were out for a stroll and should be billed make a donation to mountain rescue . Friends used to live near Ben nevis and they would see MR most weekends because walkers were unprepared for their stroll.

You should pay a price for all of those services. It would stop folk calling an ambulance for a non emergency when they could easily take a taxi. Some of the call outs on the those ambulance programmes are ridiculous.

There should be a system like on ski slopes where you have the option of taking insurance, which means you get the assistance of the securitie des piste if you have an accident, and if you opt to not take out the insurance, you don't

Although they are a lot less strict than they used to be
In the olden days, the rescue team would come over to the aid of an injured skier and look at their lift pass to see if it included the 'rescue' element.
If it didn't, they would ski off

No, because it puts people off calling for help and the situation can get worse (harder rescue, greater threat to life for both rescuer and person, more expensive)

However, if you have to be rescued you should feel duty bound to fund raise and donate to the best of your ability.

I think you ought to have to take out insurance before doing this kind of activity to cover any mountain rescue fees

I can't speak for all Mountain Rescue personnel but do know the opinions of those I came into contact with; they wouldn't support this.
They're volunteers and the idea of someone not calling them and dying because of money worries goes completely against their ethos.

In these circumstances, yes you absolutely should be made to pay.

Would stupid idiot does this kind of stuff?

I'd say No. The weather can change in an instant either in the sea or on a mountain and I don't think people are calling MR just for the fun of it.

They're volunteers and the idea of someone not calling them and dying because of money worries goes completely against their ethos.

Spose so I guess you need to put up with some eejits so genuine walkers/climbers are not put off. Although i would make the do a safety class or give up their time to volunteer and see what these rescuers do

And ban them off the mountain because I'm harsh like that 😁

RNLI don't receive any govt. funding.

As an aside, I know someone who was in the RNLI for many years and has a longstanding family connection to the charity. He said they largely prefer not being government funded as they can run it their own way, instead of being tied up in red tape and bureaucracy.

Yabu. Unless we start charging for everything. Oh you slipped on your child's toy and broke your ankle, you have to pay because that's a risk of having children. And it would always be to the detriment of poor people.

as a volunteer in a rescue orginaisation we nether want to charge or get government funding thank.

We don't want peopel to be put off calling and if they want to fund raise after then fair enough.

as for government money it comes with far too many restrictions and boxes to tick to keep the admin bods happy - ie too many strings attached.

My sister called mountain rescue about 10 years ago. They'd set off on a 5 hour rock climb about 30-60 minutes too late and an hour before the top it was too dark to see anything. They were gripping onto the side of a wall (rock climbing) for about 3 more hours before the guys came to rescue them.
Tbf to the rescuers they did give them a stern talking to about planning their climbs better and leaving at first light rather than in the afternoon.

What stupid idiot does this kind of stuff?

Hundreds, every winter. They don't understand how quickly the weather can change in the hills and stroll off without proper jackets and footwear.

Similar in intelligence levels to this diamond who tried to climb Ben Nevis in his flip flops.

metro.co.uk/2014/06/22/tourist-who-had-never-seen-snow-breaks-ankle-after-scaleing-mountain-in-flip-flops-4771481/

No, mainly because it will dissuade some people from calling for help. Similar to people who are in a quandary about whether to phone for an ambulance - yes there are time wasters but there are also people who are reluctant to call, when in fact they should.

How is the cost quantified? It's operated by volunteers so there aren't wages to pay.

And who judges whether the rescued person was 'stupid' enough to have to pay for their rescue? Would there be a sliding scale? 100% your own fault and you pay full whack? 45% your fault and you pay less? Who will administer and pay for the bureaucracy?

Why is using a paper map any more likely to stop you getting lost?