Air Ambulance Services and Other

[FJ1100mjk]

I am in the process of applying for a health insurance policy for next year. I have always wondered about being on the bike out in the sticks, and having the unimaginable happen where you'd (and maybe your rider) need quick reaction times from a medical team, and quick transport via air (and/or ground) to the nearest facilities. And in the event, multiple air transfers for additional needed care, because the first place is not equipped to handle your type of injuries.

Has anyone ever purchased and/or used a service like this http://airmed.com/default.aspx or know of someone who has?

Any stories regarding the above, are welcome too.

Thanks.

[CatTomb]

Check out SPOT. findmespot.com I have a spot unit I wear on my person when I ride. It does several things. With a push of a button it calls 911 over its satellite connection (actually, it informs SPOT who determines where you are and contacts the closest emergency responder). The one I have also allows me to send predefined text messages to a predefined person or group. Things like "OK, having a great ride," "Be home is two hours," "Out of gas, please bring me some." The new Gen3 spot allows you to do everything with one device. My unit (SPOT Connect) interfaces with my iPhone. If I remember correctly, the MedEvac option was $15 a year (but to be reimbursed, you have to call for help with your spot device). I also got the option that provides a almost real-time track of my progress that anyone with the internet link can follow on-line.

I got mine primarily for use with my off-road moto but generally wear it on the FJ too as a fair percentage of where I ride has limited cell-phone coverage and limited traffic.

Hope this helps.

AND THE UNITS ARE 50% OFF till 1/4/15. You still gotta pay the full price for the annual fee.

[ribbert]

Check out SPOT. findmespot.com I have a spot unit I wear on my person when I ride.

I also use a SPOT and my brother has an EPIRB.

I ride alone mostly and on a lot of barely used roads with no Armco  and drop offs falling hundreds of feet into vegetation that they would be unlikely find you in even if they new within a few miles of where you went off. Most days no one even knows which direction I headed off in. They could just as likely start looking a 1000kms in the wrong direction.

A couple of years ago here in Oz, a team doing roadside mowing (yes, that close to the edge of the road) found a skeleton and a Triumph. It was on a very busy road but just out of sight of passing motorist. For the locals, it was the Putty Road.
An investigation suggested he was not travelling fast, was unlikely to have sustained life threatening injuries, but a few broken bones and his bike prevented him from crawling a couple of metres to the roadside and attracting attention. He had been there for several years. He was reported missing at the time.
You don't need to be somewhere remote to need such a device. Even a few days in a ditch inext to a heavily used road could kill you. No ones going to hear you yell from passing cars.

Noel

Noel

[FJ1100mjk]

Thanks for the replies. I had heard of SPOT before, but have never looked into it before. I will do so now.

Sad story about that Triumph rider. An example of what can happen to any who venture out alone to have some fun on their bike, but have the extreme happen. I know that I ride alone a lot, and at times on sparsley-travelled roads, that can have hidden dangers (such as deer), and things could go bad in an instant. I know that one is not supposed to ride alone, but I do so.

While typing this, I got a reply from another rider on another forum where he posted a reply to my question. He had an incident, and...

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php?debug;topic=101106.0

Thanks again.

[Pat Conlon]

Sweet Jesus, I hope my wife does not see this thread....

Tit's she can understand....even enjoy...but this would just freak her out.  Big time.

[pdxfj]

I also have a SPOT and pay for the insurance and trip tracking.  One of those things I hope I never have to press the 911 button.  I've got a Gen 1 device.  At 50% off I might have to look into a Gen 3.

One of our very own can attest to having a get off and winding up in the bushes with injuries.  Passing cars and even riders from his own group didn't even see him waving for help.  The only thing the SPOT insurance will not cover is retrieval of your dead body.

Not a pleasant topic, but it's life.  Everything in life is dangerous.  Some things more than others.

[ken65]

Ive never thought about this before. In the last fortnight or so ive only started carrying a mobile phone. Certainly food for thought..

ken

[movenon]

Ive never thought about this before. In the last fortnight or so ive only started carrying a mobile phone. Certainly food for thought..

ken

Tip: Buy an extra cell phone battery and put it in your bag on a trip.  Had one fail exactly when I needed it the most.
George

[ken65]

gday George,  did the battery go flat?

Ive only been using mine for a couple of weeks and what ive found is it needs charging nearly everyday,..

but have to admit the very 1st call i made out on the road , i got a mates answering machine and thought i turned it off but didn't,,

anyway it went flat fairly quickly..  ken

[FeralRdr]

There's a lot of good info here, but if I may point out, we're actually talking about two separate (though connected) topics.  Last summer, I looked into getting both services, but wasn't able to find what I was looking for to match my needs/price point.  This is what I found out when looking into both services.

First is the issue of Air-Ambulance services.  The Air-Med service mentioned above, sounds like a good option if you are not in need of emergency trauma care.  This is OK, if you are a long way from home and want to be transported to a facility close to where you live.  However, this may not cover you for air MEDEVAC from an accident scene  to a trauma care center.  The above service doesn't seem to provide rotary wing (helicopter) emergency trauma services, nor does it mention being partnered with any local partners for such a service.  In my opinion, this is a more crucial service for motorcyclists than fixed wing ambulatory transport, especially if you tend to ride outside of the city limits and favor back country roads.    I would encourage anyone thinking of getting an emergency air services plan, to carefully research what services the provider is actually providing, what they cover and don't, and under what conditions they are activated.  For example, many air emergency trauma services operate based on medical need, not patient want.  Meaning, that they can only be activated by emergency first responders.  Conversely, Air ambulatory services (fixed wing) can usually be initiated by the patient or their family.  You can then make an informed decision based upon your needs.   I would also strongly recommend checking for the provider's area of coverage/service, and if they are partnered or have reciprocity with any out of area service providers.  Many services have reciprocity with service providers in adjacent states which could make a membership more cost effective. 

The second issue is GPS locators.  As mentioned above, these are incredibly useful devices for those who like to ride in areas that have very limited cell coverage.  In the U.S. there are two services available (Don't know for the rest of the world): SPOT (http://www.findmespot.com) and Delorme http://delorme.com.  Both seem to offer many similar services such as SOS emergency alerts, route tracking, preset messaging, and the same emergency insurance service (GEOS).  They do differ in their price plans so depending on what services you want will determine which is the better deal.  One key difference however, is that the Delorme inReach trackers afford 2-way messaging, where as the SPOT system appears to be a one way system.  This means that not only can you message someone, but can receive messages as well.  Additionally, if you have an emergency and initiate an SOS alert, you will receive a confirmation message  that the Alert was received by the Emergency Response Center.  The SPOT system doesn't appear to have this capability.  Hopefully Garth can be able to comment on this.  Also, the current Delorme inReach models don't require a smartphone for messaging (though all models still can connect via Bluetooth to Android or iPhones to facilitate doing so).  The newer models have built in screens with a simple software keyboard.   There is an older inReach smartphone device that still is available from some retailers, but it is no longer in production and is regarded as a closeout item.  One key disadvantage of the newer Delorme models is that they have nonuser replaceable batteries.  The SPOT devices can use alkaline, lithium, or NiMh rechargeable AA's.  Though this may not be an issue for everyone, it is for me as I prefer to have the ability to replace a rechargeable battery when it wears out (won't hold a charge anymore).  With the newer inReach devices, you can't do that and as a result, will have a limited lifetime.

Too understand my reasons for looking into a GPS Satellite locator I'll relay this story.  Two years ago (when I still had the FJ), I was riding HWY 191 in eastern Arizona (between Springerville and Morenci/Clifton) with some friends and we came across a fellow rider down.  There was no cell service and so I went for help.  Luckily, there was an Arizona Highway Dept facility a few miles down the road.  Someone had already notified them of the accident and they had radioed it in.  It took almost an additional hour for the EMT's to arrive and then another 30-45 minutes to call for and get an air MEDEVAC there.  Fortunately for the rider he wasn't hurt too badly and didn't have any immediate life threatening injuries.  However, while we were waiting for the helicopter to arrive, we were talking to several members of the local Search and Rescue team.  They told us that one of the reasons that they were already out there was that they had been conducting a search for another motorcyclist who had been missing since Thursday (this was on Saturday).  They had just found that rider right before they heard about the accident we were at.  In that case, the rider left the road and tumbled down a steep incline, and was severely injured.  It took a helicopter to find him, and when they reached him, he was barely alive.  Similar situation as Noel's, the other rider crashed, wasn't able to move and had no way to reach anyone.  In this case, he was lucky enough to not be hidden from aerial view by dense vegetation. 

[FJ1100mjk]

Thanks for the extensive information, and additional reasons for someone to pursue the above services.

When I posted the above link for the air med service, it was the first one that I came across when searching the web quickly. I would be more interested in the type that lift you out of the crash site, than the simple air trasport one that's associated with the link that I posted. But both have their respective merits.

And thanks to everyone for their contributions as well.