Tyre company
Goodyear
has announced an interesting new partnership with
Mountain Rescue England &
Wales that includes helping to fund and support the roll
out of GPS equipment to all Mountain Rescue teams.
The partnership is intended to underline Goodyear's commitment to
safety generally and has two components. The tyre giant will supply
MRTs with their award-winning 4x4 tyres, but additionally the
company will help to ensure that all Mountain Rescue Teams have access
to potentially life-saving GPS equipment, which could save vital time
in emergency situations.

Vehicles like this Patterdale MRT 4x4 will be shod with
Goodyear tyres - GPS will help them get to the right location...
Mountain Rescue has generally been funded by public donations, so it's
interesting to see a big company like Goodyear getting involved at this
level and begs the question of whether company donations could be the
way forward for underfunded teams.
Anna Stanley of Goodyear says: 'Recent media interest in walking
legends such as Alfred Wainwright has led to more people exploring the
great outdoors. And whilst we don’t want to discourage this,
some inexperienced people are walking off the beaten track in search of
‘hidden gems’ – ultimately putting
themselves at risk.
'Goodyear is renowned for providing the latest innovations to make
motoring ever safer and we firmly believe that we can support this life
saving service and find new ways to protect people across the country.'
Not surprisingly, the initiative is also being welcomed by Mountain
Rescue. Spokesman Andy Simpson comments:
'We are a non profit organisation and save lives on extremely finite
budgets. The funds being donated by Goodyear will help fund state of
the art GPS mapping equipment that will make a world of difference to
those controlling rescues.
'Our rescue vehicles are tested to the maximum and are consistently
used off road in extreme conditions. Having Goodyear’s
support will certainly help prepare our teams for the lifesaving roles
they play.'
Good stuff we reckon. More information at
www.mygoodyear.co.uk
or
www.mountain.rescue.org.uk