Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The beach umbrella manufacturers need to redesign the ends so they are not spiked. Like someone here said before, they can act like flying spears / javelins if there are strong winds.
I don't think this is a freak accident. This is more like an accident waiting to happen.
There are many potential solutions. A good-sized bag tethered to the end that the user fills with sand to keep the umbrella from taking off. A spring loaded cage that snaps down over the pointy end when it's pulled out of the sand. Or a rental company that actually watches the weather forecast and collects their umbrellas when the wind comes up. I think it's pretty certain that the rental company and/or umbrella manufacturer is going to be sued big-time, liability insurance rates are going to skyrocket for those types of companies, and there will be a change in how they sell and rent out umbrellas.
Just waiting for the 'government needs to regulate umbrellas' people to chime in, since it seems to be a public danger now.
And... two years later, no one has made that assertion.
I guess people can differentiate between freak one-offs - ie, things that aren't a 'public danger' - and things that kill many people, and thus are in fact dangerous on a routine basis to the public.
Well, some people can. Since you served up this tortured analogy, you don't seem to be able to.
Status:
"Just livin' day by day"
(set 28 days ago)
Location: USA
3,166 posts, read 3,362,200 times
Reputation: 5382
1001 ways to die. Sad that happened to her. I have seen beach umbrellas fly out of sand on windy days. People using them need to make sure they're deep enough into the sand.
Super sad that happened to her. I have see many umbrellas flying down the beach. It happens. People need to be aware but you will always have stupid people who are, well just plain stupid, not from the beach, or on their once a year vacation or in the USA on a work visa for the summer. Va Beach or else where....
I bought a 2 foot high wooden step ladder. It had a sticker on it that said "Caution, not to be used to support motor vehicles"
we can regulate anything, every freak accident seems to result in a law or at least a requirement for a sticker. Where was the sticker saying caution do not stand downwind on windy days" ?
This is actually a dangerous issue. The beach is packed, and there are umbrellas everywhere, there’s no way to not sit downwind of any umbrella. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen umbrellas that aren’t in far enough or are too flimsy for windy days go tumbling end over down the beach while the people chase after it.
We stopped bringing our umbrella, and now we pay the $5.00 to rent one. They put it in, they are responsible for it. Worth $5.00 plus tip. But I have often thought it was a dangerous situation.
Update: had a story on the Today show about this today. 3000 people a year rushed to ERs due to this. That's a big deal.
Shows you just how strange life can be. To be at any point on the planet, at that one moment in time, and this was the intersection...
(even just 2 feet away-and this would be a non-story)
Very sad. And reminds us how fragile life is...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
