Public Health Risk and Rescue Services

Taxpayer Rescue Missions: Are They Ethical?
Should Americans be rescued for free, even when their stupidity is what placed them in danger? According to the United States Coast Guard, the answer is yes. As Salant (1997) points out, the Coast Guard believes that free rescues are critical for public safety because fewer people would use rescue services if they actually had to foot the bill. The National Taxpayers Union disagrees, of course. With a limited budget, the government should not be spending money on people who “intentionally put themselves in danger,” (Salant, 1997, p. 1). While I agree with the National Taxpayers Union in principle, and shake my head at many of the stupid predicaments Americans find themselves in, I side more the Coast Guard. It is simply too difficult to draw the line between behaviors that some people consider risky and others do not. Also, accidents do happen. Americans do need a robust search and rescue service, and a public safety net that it can count on. Even if rescues for risky behavior can be costly, the overall goal of promoting a high quality of life in the country is being fulfilled. After all, the Coast Guard exists to safeguard American lives. If the organization spends $380 million of its $4 billion budget on search-and-rescue, the Coast Guard is doing its job.
Risky Business: Local Laws
Driving while using a cell phone is becoming illegal in many states. I strongly support this legislation because distracted drivers cause too many accidents, and there is no better way to be distracted than to be using a phone. Text messaging is even worse than talking, because hands-free options allow drivers to be relatively safe. Yet texting takes both the hands and the eyes away from the road. With all the paranoia about driving while intoxicated, it is no wonder that legislation against using phone while driving has become increasingly prevalent in the States.
Pokemon Go! And The Allure of Risky Behavior
Research is revealing the neuroscience behind risky behavior. The brain changes rapidly until we are in our mid-20s, making late adolescence and early adulthood a prime time for risk-taking behavior (Allen, 2014). The rapid changes inhibit impulse control. At the same time, teens are also more susceptible to social conditioning and social rewards for risky behavior. Impressing people leads to reward in the form of admiration or acceptance. Feeling socially rewarded leads to a pleasure response in the brain, which then reinforces the desire to act on impulse or to carry out risky behaviors. The types of risky behaviors some teens prefer might be different from others, but generally peer pressure will have a strong bearing on what risks a person will take.
Oddly, the seemingly innocent Pokemon Go! App has been leading to some behaviors that can be considered risky. In the UK, the coastguard had to rescue teens from a lake because they were chasing Pokemon creatures. In other situations, people have almost fallen off cliffs or balconies, just as they might while trying to get the right selfie shot. These are not necessarily risk-taking behaviors, but they are indicative of distractedness in general. Teens are not necessarily more prone to distractedness than adults. In fact, the reason why cell phone laws prevent all people from using their phones or texting while driving is because these are risky behaviors that can lead to automobile accidents no matter how old the driver is. Using the Spectrum of Prevention model, I would design a program that did not focus so much on risk as on being aware. Education is the key. Teaching young people how to remain more in control of their bodies and minds will help them avoid risk, or at least take more calculated risks. It would be better to accept that teens have a greater tendency to act on their impulses, as the Allen (2014) article shows, and learn how to minimize harm than it would be to try and use scare tactics.





References

Allen, A. (2014). Risky behavior by teens can be explained in part by how their brains change. The Washington Post. Sept 1, 2014. Retrieved online: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/risky-behavior-by-teens-can-be-explained-in-part-by-how-their-brains-change/2014/08/29/28405df0-27d2-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html?utm_term=.3d5d354563ab
“Distracted Driving,” (2017). Retrieved online: http://www.ghsa.org/state-laws/issues/Distracted-Driving
Salant, J. (1997).Taxpayers Pay Millions for Rescues. Accessed at http://www.glencoe.com/sec/health/pdf/taxpayers.pdf on August 22, 2016.
Titcomb, J. (2016). Coastguard called out to rescue Pokémon Go players chasing rare creature across lake. The Telegraph. Retrieved online: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/07/19/coastguard-called-out-to-rescue-pokemon-go-players-chasing-rare/