The most common reasons people get into survival situations

Everyone loves a good survival story, don’t they? And what better than a real-life tale of how someone faced the possibility of death and managed to come out the other side in one piece? Tales of people lost in the wilderness are still coming thick and fast and if anything seem to be increasing. In the UK there are close to 2,000 people rescued each year by helicopter alone, with the number of people being rescued by land significantly higher.

Most of these situations are minor rescues, such as someone having an accident in the middle of nowhere, and the only practical way to reach them is by helicopter. After a quick phone call, you can expect to get rescued pretty fast in the UK, and even without a phone, you can’t walk more than a few miles in any direction before finding a road or village.

The rest of the world isn’t as lucky when it comes to the chances of being found so quickly, as the UK doesn’t host the huge expanses of wilderness that can be found in places like northern Europe and the Americas. It doesn’t seem to matter which country someone goes missing in, the reasons are almost always the same, so here’s a list of the most common reasons people get into survival situations.

They got lost

People can’t be blamed for not knowing an area they’ve never been to before, but they can most certainly be blamed for not doing their research before setting out. There are so many stories about how people were just enjoying their surroundings and simply kept walking, before they knew it they were far off the beaten track with no idea how to get back to it.

Hikers are often amazed at the sight of a vast forest or huge mountain, especially in a climate they aren’t used to. It can be so tempting to go further than you planned or just take a small detour to go and have a look at a waterfall or some other kind of natural wonder, but these are the exact situations that get people lost. If you’re going to change your planned route then you must know exactly how to get back to safety, and not just be “pretty sure” like many people who ended up needing to be rescued.

They didn’t tell anyone where they were going

When people get into a bad situation in the wild it’s often not their fault, anyone can slip on a wet log or stone and twist their ankle or trip over a stick and hurt themselves. It may be unfortunate if this happens to someone but if their phone can’t reach help then they just have to wait until the person who’s expecting them back raises the alarm. The most common reason for people not telling someone where they are going is down to the thought of “I’ll be fine, I’ve done this a million times before”.

The most well-known example of this would have to be Aron Ralston who had a movie made about him called 127 Hours. He went out into a desert canyon region he had been to many times before, he knew he was capable of walking a great distance and had been out many times in the area without a single issue, which is exactly why he didn’t tell anyone he was going there. After having to cut off his own arm with a cheap pocket knife he finally escaped his situation and found rescue, but all it would have taken to avoid almost dying and losing a limb were the words “I’m going to the canyon again, if I’m not back by dark send help”.

They weren’t prepared

This normally affects people on long drives or airplane crashes in remote areas but happens all too often, and not just in countries with large expanses of wilderness. If someone is flying or driving somewhere they don’t expect to get into a situation where their life is in danger, and so they pack accordingly. When people get stranded in a car their story normally starts by mentioning how they only have a few snack bars and a bottle of water.

Survival kits today are quite cheap and basic ones can be bought for around £20. Ration blocks have a shelf life of 5 to 10 years and a 24-hour, 2,500 calorie supply costs less than £10. For the same price as a takeaway, you could have something in the boot of your car that could save your life, and if most of the people who have died in such situations had something like this in their vehicle then they would probably still be alive today.