Costa Concordia aground near Giglio
There were scenes of panic as the Costa Concordia hit a sandbar on the evening of Friday 13th January near the island of Giglio and listed about 20 degrees. People reached land by lifeboats but some swam ashore. Rescue teams went from cabin to cabin, searching for survivors.
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Created on 03 January 2012
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The Volusia County Beach Patrol today rolled out new utility vehicles that will replace big pickup trucks for most of the lifeguards' work in a change intended to improve the safety of beach driving.
The switch to utility task vehicles, or UTVs, follows a July accident in which a lifeguard ran over a sunbather while making a U-turn, county officials said.
The lifeguard did not see the sunbather because the height of the pickup created a blind spot, authorities said.
Although the new UTVs are larger than all-terrain vehicles, they are smaller and closer to the ground than a pickup. UTV drivers also will have a wider view around the vehicle, eliminating most blind spots that would occur in a pickup, they said. "We think all around it's a much safer vehicle, being that it's smaller in size, and the driver has a 360-degree viewing angle," said Kevin Sweat, director of Volusia's division of safety.
The UTVs also are easier to maneuver in soft sand, county officials said. And the open sides make it more inviting for beachgoers to approach lifeguards.
The new UTVs have a rubberized bumper in the front to minimize the risk of serious injury if the vehicle strikes a beachgoer, county spokesman Dave Byron said.
The UTVs can hold a surfboard, backboard and other emergency equipment used for rescues. Each vehicle cost $15,000, and lifeguards started using two of them on December 29 2011. By March, the county hopes to add eight more for a total of 10 UTVs. Lifeguards will continue using pickups but on a more limited basis, Sweat said.
By spring, beachgoers should regularly see lifeguards cruising the beach in the new vehicles. "We're slowly rolling them out so the public can get used to them," Byron said.
