Saving our lives with safety

By Captain Mahmood Al Mahmood

Its soon going to be the travel season as we prepare for the final “I shall compensate for the pandemic” holiday of 2022.

What, dear reader, is the one thing you should do to stay safe and prepared for any emergency?

Besides the usual response of taking out proper travel insurance and avoiding dangerous places in new locales?

 The answer is simple and hiding in the open – break the habit of ignoring the safety instructions on airplanes.

Studies show that 60% of air passengers tend to ‘switch off’ when the crew marks out the emergency exits, the life raft and how to use the oxygen mask in an emergency.

When a crisis strikes in mid-air, not only is there a scramble for the emergency exits (which most passengers are confused about) but even if a plane is making an emergency landing with little time to spare, passengers will stop to grab their over head luggage and handbags, thus slowing down evacuation and losing precious life - saving minutes.

One should also follow safety knowledge practices in hotels and Airbnb residences which are becoming popular.

Invest fifteen minutes in getting to know the premises, the emergency exits and fire escapes. When a crisis strikes, this basic info will reduce confusion and may be vital in saving your life.

In Bahrain, we are heading into the most delightful weather of the year and families use this to go camping, re-connecting with their ancient Arab desert heritage.

Here too we face twin problems. The first and most obvious is the littering of our desert with everything from plastic waste to whole sofa sets and even discarded toilets. The second is the lack of safety practices.

Things sre better nowadays because of heightened security round oil pipelines – otherwise campers used to even set up BBQs and little campfires near the pipelines! When camping, do leave the space in the desert as pristine as you first saw it.

Always follow simple safety practices such as carrying a mobile fire extinguisher and a first aid kit.

Our lives are precious and often, the difference between escaping unhurt and alive in a dangerous situation and succumbing to a challenge, rests in our own hands.