Spending the day at the beach isn’t all just fun and games. Well, it mostly is. However, water safety is a key component. A new initiative by Ford and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution aims to educate beachgoers in the U.K. about beach safety.
How? By customizing tires to leave water safety messages in the sand. The messages read “float to live”, “no inflatables”, and “emergency? call 999”.o
Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company
New research from Ford reveals that 40 percent of people who would take an inflatable into the sea in the U.K. had previously run into difficulty. Thirty-eight percent said that they would consider swimming alone. The April 2020 Basis/RNLI Respect the Water survey revealed that only 56 percent of the UK public know to call 999 and ask for the coastguard if they see somebody fall into open water.
“Spending the day at the beach or out on the water is a great way to have fun and stay active but it’s easier than you think to get into trouble,” said Guy Addington, Regional Water Safety Lead at the RNLI. “With record temperatures, we’ve seen high numbers of people at UK beaches this summer so it’s imperative that we continue to raise awareness of important water safety messages. We’re delighted that Ford is helping us continue our mission to spread these messages that can help save lives.
It is vital that anyone visiting the coast understands that the beach can be a dangerous environment and you must take responsibility for you and your family this summer. No one ever goes to the coast to be rescued yet RNLI lifeguards rescue 1000’s each year.”
Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company
In 2019, RNLI lifeguards aided more than 29,000 people on U.K. beaches in more than 17,000 incidents, saving a total of 154 lives. They also helped to reunite nearly 1,800 lost children and teenagers with their families and aided 346 people in incidents involving inflatables.
The customer tires are made form a mold of each water safety message. The mold creates a rubber tire sleeve that is wrapped around the Ford Ranger tire tread and fixed into place permanently. The custom tires were tested by Ford at Minnis Bay in Kent, England.
Ford is the official vehicle supplier to the RNLI, and the Ford Ranger is the RNLI’s pick-up of choice for lifeguard beach patrols. Since 2018, Ford has provided the RNLI with over 350 vehicles, including the Fiesta, EcoSport, Focus, Kuga, Transit, Transit Connect and Transit Customs.
