Thursday, August 29, 2019

Police will hand out hundreds of thousands of reflective tapes

The police will hand out 100,000 reflective tapes to pedestrians next week. It will help them avoid fine.

Pedestrians must wear reflective elements or clothing with reflective elements under reduced visibility. This obligation applies not only outside the commune but also in the commune if they follow the road or road edge.

"Otherwise, pedestrians are invisible and run the risk of colliding with a vehicle, or at best a penalty of up to € 30," said Denisa Balogh, a spokeswoman for the police presidium.

What are reflective and fluorescent materials
Reflective or retro-reflective materials are special materials that can reflect incident light up to a distance of 200 meters.

Reflective material can be seen at night three times longer than white clothing and more than ten times greater than blue clothing.

Fluorescent materials increase visibility in daylight and dusk but lose their function in the dark. The most common colors are bright yellow, green and orange.

Police call for thoughtfulness
During the nine months of this year, police dealt with 808 pedestrian-related accidents, in which 42 died.

A driver who does not see a person on the road in time cannot react quickly enough and avoid it safely.

"Many accidents could have been avoided if drivers or pedestrians adhered to the known traffic rules. Only if we all respect each other and respect each other considerably will our movement on the road or sidewalk be safe," the police spokeswoman warned.

Police will teach pedestrians, in addition to giving away reflective strips, about regulations that will help them to increase their safety on the road next week. They will attend kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. According to Balogh, they will not miss seniors.
Visibility can be enhanced by the appropriate color of clothing and accessories made of fluorescent and reflective materials to increase your light contrast to the background. This will increase the distance the driver can see you.

The combination of different, far-visible materials allows you to see you well in the light and the dark. Reflective vests, interlocking and elastic reflective strips, and multi-colored reflective stickers are available.

Use reflective elements on the side of the body that faces the road, not the side. Place them close to your knees, belt level, or shoulder (cyclists also wearing helmets and bikes). Reflective stickers can be attached to shoe soles, bicycles, skates, helmets, scooters, school bags, crutches or strollers.
Provide children with clothing as well as school bags and accessories equipped with reflective and fluorescent safety features.

Older people should also be made visible. According to the police, they often prefer to wear bold dark colors. "Their reactions on the road are often weakened by older age," Balogh pointed out, adding that the combination of dark clothing, inattention, and alcohol is particularly dangerous.

Exercise caution when walking at the edge of the road and when crossing the road, especially in unlit areas or where there is no footpath

Drivers should also be vigilant and attentive, especially in areas with increased pedestrian movement. Especially around schools, shopping centers, cemeteries and the like.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

There was a bus failure on the expressway near Nitra

One lane on the R1 expressway in front of Nitra was closed this morning for more than an hour. The reason was the failure of the bus, which was driving kindergartens from Plekanec.

A passing driver alerted the weaned bus. "He called us at the Traffic Monitoring Center on the toll-free line 0800 333 333," said Robert Kišš, a spokesman for Granvia Operation.

The caretaker sent a patrol to the site, creating a safe zone around the bus. "After the details, we called the police and the towing service."

Police provided a replacement bus that transported the nurseries to the Selenec administration and maintenance center. Originally, they were aimed at a theater performance in Nitra, but they would not be able to catch it anymore.

The substitute program was taken care of by travelers, firefighters, and police. They were reminded of technology and vehicles. "We took them to the camera surveillance room and gave them reflective tapes with the PR1BINA road logo in memory," Robert Kišš said.

Eventually, the children settled in a conference room and let them play a fairy tale. "They spent about three hours with us and then, with a substitute bus, they happily made their way from the unplanned destination of their trip back to the kindergarten in Pukanec."

The mechanic from the maintenance center helped repair the broken bus, which came back a little later.

The section of the road where the vehicle broke down this morning is not within the scope of the cameras that monitor R1. The driver who reported the event on the toll-free line helped the schoolchildren.

"We are glad that we could have kept the children safe and we did not leave them on the road," said Kišš.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Police warn: Wear reflective elements

It is darker in the morning and fogs are more common. Early evening is getting darker. The roads are wet, slippery and soon fallen leaves will appear on them.

"Pedestrians should also be more careful. Dark clothing may be stylish, but certainly not safe," said Presidium spokeswoman Denisa Balogh.

Frequent rain, fog, later dawn, and early sunset can be a source of accidents.

"All road users should think about it and take extra care after the summer cool. Drivers should take their foot off the gas and, especially on a wet road, maintain greater spacing between vehicles. The braking distance is prolonged. Drivers should check the lighting, the fog lights help, but if there is no reason to use them, they should be turned off, dazzling."

Beware of people traveling
Trees growing along the road often attract collectors. Especially when traveling between villages, children run around, there are comfortable bicycles and various darts.

"Drivers should be cautious on such sections. Collectors use reflective clothing and think that when they collide with a car, they are the more vulnerable and the consequences can be fatal."

Last ride on a motorcycle
The last nice days are used by motorcyclists to ride the country. However, the fallen leaves and the wet road can forever end their carefree ride.

"Like pedestrians or cyclists, they are among the most vulnerable on the road. Although they are legally obliged to be illuminated and have reflective elements on them, few of the cyclists do this. They often drive on the wrong side of the road, side by side, and alcohol is also common."

According to the police, using reflective tapes is better than in the past. Contributed to this amendment to the law, which made pedestrians obliged to have reflective materials in reduced visibility.

"Many pedestrians still don't think about their safety and risk their lives. Especially older people prefer to wear dark colors. They don't realize that the driver often sees them when it's too late."

Since the beginning of the year, the police have registered 9434 traffic accidents resulting in the loss of 173 persons, including 97 drivers and passengers, 23 motorcyclists, 41 pedestrians and 12 cyclists.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Are you going on holiday? We advise what to check

If you are going on a long trip by car, you should not just think about whether you have packed everything essential. Also, check the car before long journeys. But not only the condition of the mixture in the wipers or the oil level.

"One of the primary things should have been checking the condition of the tires, for example. First of all, check the correct density for a fully-loaded vehicle. If your car does not have a spare wheel, make sure you also have a repair kit,"

Adds ten hints to follow in the last minute car check.

1. Check all car liquids
Before traveling, check not only the windscreen washer mixture but also the oil and coolant level.

You never know when you get into a car column, or you'll have to wipe dirt off the glass now and then.

However, if you do not go completely out of civilization, you can also buy a mixture and other liquids at petrol stations at stops.

2.Wiper wipers
Once you have checked that you have enough washer mixture, do not bypass the wiper performance test.

Think of attaching them to you at the wrong time, hundreds of miles from home, on the road at high speed, one of them did not fly away.

Check also how they wipe. They should not bounce on the window in the rain instead of wiping the water or otherwise create smudges. To prevent yourself from seeing anything through the windscreen.

3.Brakes and the shock absorbers
If the car has not undergone its spring cleaning and thorough service check, check the condition of its brakes (brake pads, pads) and the shock absorbers. Especially if you go on a long ride in the style of "safari", where the brakes and shock absorbers get to work.

However, most new vehicles have to wear signals and should alert you to problems.

Thus, on less demanding routes, the car should still have sufficient thickness to travel from, despite the brake pad wear indication.

4. Reserve them
When checking the car at the last minute, do not miss the correct tire density. This should be set to a fully-loaded car.

The condition of the spare wheel must also be checked. If your car doesn't have one, you shouldn't miss a "repair kit".

5.Light lights
Before traveling, check not only the lighting function but also the replacement bulbs. Nothing is pleasant when lighting fails in an unfamiliar environment.

6. Does air conditioning work?
Haven't used air conditioning yet? On a long journey by car and baking, the sun can meet.

You should test its functionality before traveling and have it repaired by a workshop if necessary. In order not to happen, you will only be a beauty during your long holiday trip.

7. First aid kit, the vest is?
First aid kit, reflective vests with reflective tapes, but also a warning triangle. These are safety accessories that the driver should always have at hand.

Before traveling, check not only their condition and location. In the case of reflective jackets, check in advance whether the number of passengers or special color is required in the countries on the route.

For example, when traveling through Austria to Italy or Croatia, the driver also fines if he has no reflective vest with him.

8. Pass and numbers do you have?
When you check the validity of your passports before you travel, also check your current assistance services and Slovak offices in the countries where you will be traveling.

The assistance service should be available 24/7 in any country. Of course, it depends on the agreed conditions with the insurance company or the car dealer.

And be sure to include the accident report form in case you crash.

9. Insurance is equipped?
When checking documents, do not overlook the validity of the green card, which confirms international liability insurance.

Especially when entering countries outside the EU, they may not even let you into the country without it.

10.The destination you know?
Before you make a long trip, find out possible destinations where you could spend the night if necessary, or places you could visit during a regular break.

Drivers, especially night travelers with children, should not go on a long journey without a few hours of sleep.

During the journey, regular breaks may help, preferably at 2-hour intervals.

Another alternative to diversify your holiday is to divide the long journey into one or more stops with overnight accommodation in an interesting area you are walking through.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

They give away reflective elements to children for reducing the risk of accidents

The Allianz Foundation provided the town of Krupina with a financial contribution of EUR 500 and a donation in the form of 200 pieces of reflective tapes. The city received help within the project Safer in Krupina.

The financial contribution was used by the management to purchase reflective elements such as reflective vests and LED key fobs, which in cooperation with the municipal police, together with reflective strips, were handed over to primary school pupils and kindergarten children.

Police for children also prepared a short lecture on the importance of wearing reflective elements. Both the city and the police believe that these activities will contribute to the awareness of the importance of reflective elements aimed at increasing safety and reducing road accidents in Krupina.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Lower fines and reflective vests for pedestrians

Lower fines for minor traffic offenses, but also mandatory reflective vests for pedestrians. These changes brought by an amendment to the Road Act, which alleviates most of the original regulations.

Interior Minister Robert Kalinak said he is responding to improving the road safety situation. Reducing penalties applies to minor offenses, such as making phone calls while not wearing seat belts or throwing objects out of the car. The maximum rate will be reduced from € 60 to € 50. The principle will also be mitigated three times and enough, which in the event of repeated accidents caused the automatic withdrawal of the driving license, and three accidents occurred within five years.
Most recently, this principle will only apply to fatal or health-related accidents. The Interior Ministry claims that it has so far unnecessarily punished people who have caused minor accidents in which no one has even been injured.

"Let's not look at it as a softening of the law, but rather as taking into account the severity of accidents," says transport analyst Jozef Drahovský, who said it was the right step to fine-tune an otherwise good measure. According to the director of the Slovak auto tourist club Petr Pokorny, three accidents without injury could have accumulated in better drivers for five years. It also adds that the fines are still high even after they have been reduced. "Overall, I think fines are set too high. Even though it was originally intended to reduce the accident rate, it is mainly about making a person aware of his accident," he said.

Starting in January, pedestrians will have to wear reflective elements in the village and not just outside it if they walk along the side of the road. They will be worn on clothing in poor visibility. Especially in villages where there are no sidewalks, people will need to wear a reflective vest or sleeve strap, even if they go from a shop or visit a neighbor. Otherwise, they will be fined 60 euros. "It seems to me quite coercive because a pedestrian, even if he is a traffic participant, usually walks on the sidewalks and when they're not there, it's his own risk. It should be up to every municipality to ensure the safety of its people and it should not be addressed by law," thinks Pokorný of the new measure.

This obligation triggered discussions when it approved in parliament, but the ministry did not want to retreat. He claims that reflective labeling has already proven to be outside the municipality and expands it. This is confirmed by the police, which states that pedestrians caused up to 442 traffic accidents last year, of which 384 were in the village.

However, there are more changes in the law. In addition to returning to the registration numbers of your choice, there are also new rules on psychological confirmation of dependency reviews or the possibility of motorcyclists to park in zones. Although most of the adjustments should take effect only next year, the minor changes required by the European Union have been in force since 7 November.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Child safety on the road

When and how you can walk with children on the road? Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users and this is doubly true of children. When a car hits a pedestrian at a speed of 30 km / h, an average of every 20 pedestrians dies, with a speed of 50 km / h, almost half of the impact will not survive. The encounter of a pedestrian with a car driving 60 km / h means almost certain death for him.

However, if a car collides with a child at any speed, it can always end tragically, at a speed of 30 km / h is already critical to the child. This is precisely why care should be taken to prevent the safety of children on the road, which also addressed in the amendment to the Road Traffic Act, which entered into force in January this year.

Among other things, the amendment to the Road Traffic Act also brought additional obligations for pedestrians on the roadside or the roadside. In poor visibility, they must wear reflective elements or safety clothing not only outside the village but also inside it. The law defines reduced visibility as visibility in which road users do not see each other sufficiently clearly, especially from dusk to dawn, at fog, snow, rain or in a tunnel.

Especially in municipalities that do not have sidewalks at the edge of roads, these preventive measures are taking place, as the risk of a pedestrian collision with a motor vehicle has increased significantly. If the pedestrian moving along the road is not wearing reflective elements, the distance that the driver can see is significantly reduced.
Proper clothing in road safety plays a very important role. Generally, if we dressed in dark colors, the driver of a motor vehicle us in the dark, they see from a distance of about 20 meters, but the reflective material shines up to 200 meters distance. This effect is even more pronounced in young children.

Clothing and accessories in bright fluorescent colors then greatly contribute to increased safety during the day. Visibility of pedestrians and especially children or cyclists can be increased not only by well-chosen clothing but also by various reflective elements, patches, and accessories made of special materials. Reflective material at night can be seen at three times greater distance than white clothing, and at more than ten times greater distance than dark clothing.
At a speed of 75 km / h, the driver needs at least 31 meters (about 1.5 seconds) to realize the danger and respond appropriately. Thus, pedestrians, cyclists and skaters will be given enough time with reflective materials or various elements.

REFLECTING ELEMENTS
By using reflective elements, pedestrians protect their health and life. So their standard equipment, especially in autumn or winter, should include a reflective vest, tape and various illumination on the hand, foot, hat or bike helmet reflective stickers.
Reflective elements for children include safety reflective vest or reflective vest worn on top clothes, ensures good visibility for at least 50 meters and serves to protect children when moving on the road, walking and overall outdoors. The reflective safety strap can be attached to a shoulder, leg or bag as it rolls itself and is suitable for children and adults. For school bag, rucksack or backpack it is possible to buy reflective cover of yellow color, which is well visible from long distance.

It is fastened with sewn rubber and rubber straps and is also ideal for hiking or cycling trips. Reflective elements already used by many manufacturers of clothing and school bags, which can be supplemented with the above-mentioned reflective vests, retractable straps, as well as caps and winter hats with reflective patches, reflective keys, pendants in the shape of various animals, etc.
Even shoes equipped with reflective elements as standard reflective elements should always be placed on moving parts of the body, ideally on the upper or lower limbs. To be sufficiently visible, they must not be overlapped by additional layers of clothing or carry baggage. Having reflective elements on your clothes is not an expensive thing or a disgrace.


Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Prime Minister's response to the students

Students from Helena School attended Wednesday's event at Knistad Gerrard. They represent the future and were there to join Camilla Rickstrand's and Erik Lundgren's lecture series Skaraborg's Sessions. They got to mingle with many heavy names in the business.

Jacob Backhaus, Mathilda Hansson, Ella Regstorp, Noah Törnqvist, and Tilda Hellgren all attend the Helena School's advanced education in mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry.

In their spare time, they have competed as Team Dahlénium and been successful.

"We participate in the world's largest innovation and technology competition for young people," the students explain.

They competed for the first time in 2016 when they came second in the qualifiers. In 2017 they won the qualification and went on to the Scandinavian final in Oslo.

That went well and we will represent Sweden in Hungary in a kind of final where 50 countries and 70 teams participated.

Each year there is a new theme and last year was the theme "Problems that can arise between humans and animals" when the students made a reflective tape for cows.

It was after 40 cows had died in connection with a traffic accident outside Hjo and a fire truck drove straight into a cowherd. The driver of the fire truck had been blinded by an oncoming vehicle and the cows did not appear in the dark.

This was an easy solution to the problem since it is easy to attach to the animal's necklace.

One of the elements of the competition was to build an armored robot, it was programmed to solve various missions on a track under time pressure.

It has been crowned one of Sweden's best lego robots, says Jacob Backhaus.

Monday, August 19, 2019

A colorful police car caught the eye in Kuopio

On the streets of Kuopio on Tuesday, one could see a brighter and more colorful police car. Kuopio police are testing a new car this week, which should be available to police throughout the country early next year.

Field manager Mikko Antikainen says that a model of European police cars has been sought for the car and the reflective materials on its sides and rear.

Yellow is used elsewhere in Europe, although we have more moderate reflective materials than, for example, England.

Reflective material seeks safety, for example in traffic accidents. Motorists can detect the emergency vehicle further away, for example on the highway.
Most of the year is dark and, especially on motorways and highways, not everyone is quite enough, although there are emergency vehicles on the roadside. Also, the new car has yellow LEDs in the rear windows that can indicate the direction in which the car is to pass the accident site, Antikainen describes.

The new car attracted a lot of attention
There is an extra hatch on the side of the new police car, which allows you to put equipment on the opposite side of the door, for example. In the rear, the side windows have been removed and space has been made easier to clean.

Antikainen says that the police car received positive feedback on the first day and garnered attention on the streets of Kuopio.

Yes, it has caught my eye, but at least no one has started to laugh, Antikainen throws.

The new police car circles Finland for test use. After Kuopio, it moves elsewhere to Northern Savonia and then to Oulu. Experiences are collected from all areas. Existing blue-and-white police cars are due to be replaced with new, more colorful ones early next year.



Sunday, August 18, 2019

"Visibility is super important"

Eight-year-old Urho Malinen is happy to run in the courtyard of the Salmela School in Sotkamo, wearing a new safety vest. He was one of the first to get his vest and he is proud of it.

This vest is great, of course, I'm going to wear it too. Reflective tapes make this great. Visibility is super important, otherwise, you can stay under the car.

Sami Mähönen, the chief of the attention-grabbing campaign, watches Urho go with a smile and says that this is where the work is just beginning.

Now you have to get your parents involved too because you can't leave the use of children's vests alone to the kindergarten and the school. The example of the home is the most crucial here.

Sami Mähönen has obtained money from companies for a total of 2,000 vests. The cost of making reflective jackets was 11,000 euros. The attention vest is distributed in schools and kindergartens to every child from 3 to 12 years old in Scotland.

The municipality promised to handle the distribution, and the Traffic Safety and Police will help with the training. Money for the vests was purchased from companies. It once happened that there were more paying companies coming in than there was even a need.

"It is not always a big idea to go far," Mähönen smiles. The idea came about when Mähönen checked the safety equipment of his daughter in Eskar.

Next up, Timo Määttä, a traffic safety instructor, reminds us that the whole attention vests campaign hit an important point.

On darker roads, only one in two walkers wears a reflector or a vest. Against this knowledge, it is good for homes to wake up to the need for visibility.

Traffic safety trainer Timo Määttä says frankly that without a clear model, the use of vests is quickly forgotten.

For the smallest, the vest can be worn, but if the model does not come home, the larger ones will leave the vest on the shelf.



Thursday, August 15, 2019

The obligations that cyclists must observe

The advent of spring and the improvement of the weather conditions create the right conditions for the increasing use of bicycles. On this occasion, the police recalled the requirements for this group of road users.

The Road Traffic Law obliges cyclists to wear a reflective vest with reflective tape outside the settlements, during the dark part of the day and with reduced visibility, moving as close as possible to the right border of the lane.

Under the ATC, cyclists are required to use bicycles that are in good working order: brakes, bells, a device for emitting white or yellow well distinguishable light at the front and a red reflector at the rear, as well as white or yellow reflectors or reflective elements on the sides of the wheels. The law permits the placement of a red light-emitting device at the rear.

The rider is not allowed to move parallel to another two-wheeled vehicle, to operate the bicycle without holding the handlebars, and to release the pedals to control it, to operate the bicycle in pedestrian-only areas. On a pedestrian path, the cyclist is obliged to get off the bike and then cross to the other side, this prohibition does not apply to cyclists up to 12 years of age; move in or close to another road vehicle.

Traffic police are urging all road users to adhere strictly to road safety rules.


Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Grower harm mutant automated reflective color-fabric roller

As consumers growing buy apples by color, and as Michigan growers continue to shift to the fresh market, growers there have been experimenting more with reflective fabric to get light to fruit on the bottoms of trees.

Traditionally, the fabric is laid by hand in Michigan in what is a three-person job, but at least one grower family is working to automate the process — a task that hasn’t come without challenges.

Kyle Rasch's early attempts at an automated color-fabric roller involved a distributed trampoline. "It was not ideal," said Kyle, 25, a third-generation grower in Greenville, Michigan, northwest of Grand Rapids. "We could do only one row At a time, and it was a slow process, but it did the job."

The Ranches had seen a few custom-built pieces of equipment, but little on the market for the task. So, Kyle used the U-shaped leg from his wind-battered childhood trampoline as an axle to hold a roll of color reflective fabric like a paper towel roll holder in a kitchen.

He attached that to the hydraulic weed-spraying booms on the family’s tractor, along with a spring to hold it tight against the tree trunks. "We took some duct tape, some zip strips and made a little farmer apparatus," he said.

He and his family liked the results, so they worked with their equipment vendor, which manufactured two rollers that fasten to the sprayer booms, the arms of which fold up and extend to allow them to lay the fabric on both sides of the alley at once.

They prefer exposed ground in the middle of the alley to allow access for people and equipment.

 The family demonstrates the use of the rollers in July at the International Fruit Tree Association’s Summer Tour.

It's still a three-person job — one to drive the sprayer, the others to shovel small piles of dirt on the stretched fabric to hold it in place. They consider the rollers a cheap improvement to speed up the job — less than $1,000 for each Adapter that holds up to 40-inch rolls on each side.

Reflective material itself, common in Washington state, is pretty new in Michigan, said Phil Schwallier, a Michigan State University extension horticulturist.

Midwest sunlight is typically more diffuse to spread light more evenly, while up until 10 years ago, growers produced primary apples destined for the processing market, where color doesn’t matter.

These days, the climate has been changing to make color inconsistent, while growers have been converting to high-value fresh varieties like Honeycrisp and SweeTango.

Typically, in Michigan, growers lay strips only under the trees to leave access to the orchard alleys that get muddier than in Washington.

The machine speeds things up, but stretching foil by hand is a relatively easy chore, Schwallier said.

"It's not that bad," he said. Just thread a rope through the roll. One person pulls it and walks backward while two people shovel. That method covers only one row at a time, so the machine doubles the pace of work and Eases the stress on workers' backs.
Last year, they stretched fabric on about 5 acres and noticed packets increased 10 to 15 percent from those trees, said Tom Rasch, Kyle's father. "This is from the sun reflecting in and giving the fruit a Better background color," he said.

The reflection material also ripened their fruit more uniformly, allowing them to pick as much as 70 percent in the first pass.

"We're impressed with what we've seen so far," he said.

Studies elsewhere by the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission also have reflected reflective fabric to increase fruit size and yield.

This year, the Rasches are expanding to 15 or 20 acres of SweeTango, Honeycrisp and some of their harder-to-color Galas.

The Ranches advised growers to use caution with the fabric — put it out during a heatwave and you could sunburn the fruit on the bottom. Instead, they try to stretch on a relatively cool day to let the fruit build up a little sun tolerance before The hot weather arrives.

Tom Rasch next hopes to work with the equipment company to add a disc to furrow dirt on top of the fabric automatically, cutting down on labor even more.


Tuesday, August 13, 2019

The sole occupant of sunk fishing boat rescued after hours in the water

A man who was plucked out of the sea by French-side sea rescue service SNSM on Thursday night after his fishing vessel sank in the Anguilla channel is thankful to be alive after spending more than seven hours in the water hoping for rescue.

SNSM was informed by the surveillance center CROSS at 2:15 pm that the fishing vessel Integrity had sunk "around Anguilla" with one person on board. A crew of four SNSM volunteers on the semi-rigid inflatable Rescue Star headed for Anguilla, but initially without the Position of the sunken boat. A few cushions spotted in the water in the middle of the channel, but no evidence of a sinking boat.

It was learned the individual, identified as Kumakie Parris, had managed to alert a friend by phone at 11:15 am when his boat sank, and the friend then went out with his boat to look for him. It was only after 1:30 pm That the friend finally alerted the Anguilla fire department to launch the official emergency chain.

The Anguilla police had one last contact with the shipwrecked man around 1:45 pm, confirming that he was in the water and still alive, but without being able to specify his exact position.

Major resources were then deployed: the Dutch Coast Guard on two Metal Sharks, which took on board two police officers and some Anguillian firemen; the Gendarmerie's Nautical Brigade; private boats Funtime, Night Rider, and others; Rescue Star of SNSM St. Martin; As well as a DASH-8 aircraft which flew over the whole area making round trips.

Despite all the resources being deployed the missing man was still had not been located as night began to fall. Rescue Star re-fuelled at the Delta Petroleum dock and resumed the search with thermal binoculars, this time searching the area from Pointe Plum to Blowing Rock, from South to North.

Suddenly the man was spotted in the water in the beam of the flashlight and was hoisted on board. He is in good condition, with no visible wounds or injuries. CROSS was immediately informed at 7:40 pm that he had been found

Parris explained that his engine had broken down, then a big wave broke on his boat. At that time, about 11:15 am, he contacted his friend in Anguilla, put on a life jacket (a decision that saved his life) and tried to pump His boat to empty it, when another big wave hit him on the beam and the boat capsized.

"He saw boats looking for him; he shouted, raised his arms; the plane passed over him; but no one saw him," SNSM reported. "A small head between the waves is almost impossible to see. He had nothing to signal his whistle, no light, no reflective tape on his safety vest. His phone in a waterproof pocket no longer worked. He swam for hours trying to reach the coast of St. Martin.

"The crew gave him a phone to call his family who was ecstatic that he was alive."

SNSM particularly thanked sponsor Delta Petroleum, which came out to refuel the Rescue Star after closing time, permitting the search to be resumed and the man saved. SNSM also thanked CROSS, the Dutch Coast Guard, Brigade Nautique, DASH-8 plane, and all The private boats involved in this international maritime rescue collaboration for their efforts.

SNSM advises sea-goers to always wear a life vest, in water sports and, ideally, equip it with a light, a whistle, and reflective tapes to have the maximum chance of detection if the worst happens – because miracles like the one last night happen very, very rarely!