October 1, 2025

Security overload leads to apathy. How often do you hear a car alarm go off and roll your eyes hoping the owner would disable the blasted thing before the incoming headache comes a knocking? The primary objection I have to such systems is they work too well. Every week I hear an alarm being triggered […]

This is just the start of the post Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy. Continue reading and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

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Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy, written by Thomas Xavier, was created exclusively for readers of the survival blog More Than Just Surviving.

Video shows Arc Shots and technique for 7016 pipe root pass

With the growing trend for online shopping, next-day delivery and the retail/hospitality experience showing no signs of slowing down, businesses frequently need to recruit extra staff to meet increased demand (particularly in the run up to Christmas). A major national newspaper has reported that approximately 250,000 temporary positions will be on offer over the festive period and not just in restaurants, bars and shops, but also in warehouses and delivery.

Yodel, the courier giant recently announced they need an extra 1,500 temporary staff nationwide, including HGV class 1 drivers, warehouse operatives, van drivers and couriers to fulfil client demand. With an increased number of vans, HGVs and delivery vehicles on the road, inevitably comes a greater risk of accidents. Look back 2 years to December 2017 and there were 462 fatal or serious accidents involving goods vehicles.

What is Grey Fleet?

During these busy periods online retail companies will often use ‘grey fleet’ drivers to deliver to customers. Grey fleet is simply the term used to describe any vehicle that does not belong to the company, but is used for business travel.

According to one BBC investigation, on a typical day a delivery driver for a leading company will make 150-200 deliveries. Although most companies will advise that drivers take regular comfort breaks, the reality is that this frenetic pace of work allows very little time for breaks, often resulting in extreme tiredness.

Sadly, tiredness is a major contributing factor to road accidents but isn’t the only risk of having a greater number of ‘grey fleet’ vehicles on the road:

Grey Fleet: The risks

Because grey fleet vehicles do not belong to the company, fleet managers face a complicated set of issues when it comes to managing the safety of their fleet. For one thing, employees using their own car may be outside of the established insurance and servicing policies, meaning their vehicles are not covered for company travel. Another issue is attempting to keep track of the status of grey fleet vehicles to ensure they meet legal road requirements, including:

• Driving licence validity
• Insurance details including business use
• MOT certification
• Road Tax validity

In addition to this, businesses also need to consider the suitability of the vehicle for work purposes. This could include the age and condition, or whether the vehicle is equipped with ABS, ESP, air conditioning and whether or not it is suitable for the journey requirements of the company.

To help avoid accidents on the road, RoSPA recommends that all delivery drivers are trained or retrained in handling risk on the road. RoSPA offers a bespoke Grey Fleet management training course which allows companies to manage their grey fleet.

The benefit of undertaking such training is a quick and simple self-certification process, which is accessible for all drivers and sends alerts automatically to individuals and managers for MOT’s, insurance, road tax etc.

For more information on our Grey Fleet Management course visit our website, email or call us on +44 (0)121 248 2233.

Plant safety encompasses a wide variety of hazards, from slips, trips and falls and excessive noise to heavy machinery traffic and loading dock concerns.

Recently I went on a Saturday afternoon tour of selected Puget Sound Lighthouses organized by The United States Lighthouse Society (USLHS).     The USLHS chartered a high speed whale watching catamaran that cruised at 40 mph which let our … Continue reading →

When you think of survivalist, you’re probably thinking of igniting fires, building shelters, and hiking miles of wilderness. Though survivalists do these things, many people don’t think about the aquatic survival skills people need to know in order to survive places like rivers, oceans, and other larger bodies of water.

As a survivalist, you will need to be comfortable with the idea of being around water if you want to explore the world to the fullest. Not only that, but learning basic aquatic survival skills may save your life on vacations or allow you to explore your abilities as a survivalist in the water.

1. Swimming

All survivalists should know how to swim. Though there are a variety of swimming techniques to use, the most common form is freestyle, where you alternate kicking your legs and alternating extending your arms forward. Using your arms, you push yourself through the water using your legs as a natural propeller. However, knowing how to swim isn’t the only thing you need to know. You also need to be cognizant of your swimming ability and endurance so you don’t overdo it and put yourself in harmful situation.

2. Treading Water

There are a variety of techniques you can choose from when learning how to tread water. Some important things to keep in mind, however, is that you will need to use both arms and legs while keeping your head above water.

One technique you can try is moving your arms horizontally while spinning your legs as if you were on a bike: in a vertically circular motion. Another technique is to use flutter kicks (point your toes downward and then kick your legs back and forth in short bursts) while using your arms to keep balance. No matter what treading technique you try, you will run out of energy, so be sure to practice consistently and frequently.

If you cannot tread water anymore, then you may lie on your back in the water and float to regain your strength. You can attempt to backstroke to safety if you’re within an ideal range, but the main focus should be on you getting your strength back so you can stay afloat!

3. Getting out of Currents

If you get stuck in a river or ocean current, this isn’t the end of the world. If you are stuck in an ocean current and are getting pulled out to sea, do not panic. Take slow deep breaths and then begin to swim parallel to the shore. You will waste energy trying to fight against the current to swim back to shore. Though it may take a while, you will eventually feel the current stop pulling on you and then you can swim to shore. If you can, try and call for help, but not if you think you’re going to inhale water doing it!

Similarly to being stuck in an ocean current, do not fight against a current. Swim at in a diagonal line to shore; don’t swim upstream or perpendicular to the current. If, worst case scenario, you are going downstream and can’t fight it, turn your body so your feet are facing the way you are going. Doing this will prevent your head from hitting something and causing you injury or unconsciousness.

Always Prepare

If you are going to be around or going into any body of water, be prepared to bring a flotation device with you. This prevents you from having to expend precious energy in staying afloat in a dangerous situation. Along with having floatation devices, be sure to continue practicing swimming– never know when it could save your life one day.

So, Gerber’s representatives said they’d like me to check out some of their survival-related items and write up a review. I figured, why not?

You’re reading Gerber Survival Items Review, originally posted at Graywolf Survival – Emergency preparedness from a Counterintelligence Agent by Graywolf.

A wildfire was reported at approximately 3:00 am Thursday morning near Cold Mountain in Haywood County on the Pisgah Ranger District. Currently the fire is at approximately 106 acres.

The wildfire is burning within the Shining Rock Wilderness on the Pisgah Ranger District. The U.S. Forest Service has implemented a forest closure order for the entire wilderness area which prohibits all recreational uses, including the use of 53 miles of trails.

There are 30 firefighters working on the fire today and a crew will continue working throughout the night.

There will be heavy smoke in the area throughout Thursday night as a result of smoldering in the burn area. There is no imminent threat to structures at this time. Crews have been performing structure protection activities and this work will continue through Friday.

Agencies involved in the response include USDA Forest Service, NC Forest Service Haywood County Emergency Management, Cruso Fire Department, and National Park Service.

Jeff
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Ramble On: A History of Hiking

A lot of guys enjoy the fantasy of the badass survivalist who makes it on his own in a post-apocalyptic world. If you ever played Fallout, you know what I’m talking about. You got your guns, your supplies, and your canine companion, and that’s all you need. But reality is very different. In a post-SHTF […]

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