SPOT

There is a very clever new electronic device called SPOT that I’ve come to really like.

It’s about palm size and communicates with overhead satellites. It knows your GPS location down to a few feet. You do not have to be near a cellphone tower for it to work and this is important because 50% of the USA does not have cell phone coverage.

When you press the “OK” button it sends a signal to the satellite which then relays down to their servers and triggers an action. You pre-setup webpage instructions so that when an OK message is received it sends an email to people you designate along with a google map showing your exact location and a short message. Mine says “I’m here, I’m OK”. You can also set it up so that it shows everytime you’ve pressed the OK button so they can see the route you are taking.

I use this when I’m traveling in an area where there aren’t many people around and it’s a way to let my wife know where I am and that things are fine.

Another button is called “ask for help”. Like the OK button this just sends a different message. Mine says “I need help at this location, not an emergency but please come ASAP”. Great if your truck and horse trailer break down in a wilderness area.

And finally there is a “911” button. When this is pressed the SPOT company operations center find the nearest emergency services and dispatch them including sending them a detailed google map with your location. SPOT sends your GPS coordinates to the GEOS Emergency Response Center every 5 minutes, allowing you to keep moving if necessary. Emergency responders are then updated with your last known location.

I first used SPOT on a cattle drive last year. We were far away from towns and had no cell coverage. One of our riders went off his horse and the horse then rolled over him. A doctor on the drive thought he had broken his pelvis and knew he was in shock. It would have taken hours to reach the nearest town and retrieve an ambulance.

I pressed the 911 button. Within 30 minutes there was an ambulance and EMT technicians at the exact spot looking after him and then a helicopter flew in to take him to the hospital. Turned out he was just badly bruised but it may have saved his life.

The SPOT folks also called my emergency contact list (wife, brother) and let them know what was happening including tracking him all the way to the hospital. And then doing a follow up call the next day. Unfortunately it wasn’t clear to my wife in the first hour that it wasn’t me who had been injured but that got straightened out once he reached the hospital.

So I’m a big believer and keep the SPOT in my saddle bag whenever I ride in remote areas.