Courier Emergency Policies

[DWELSH]

Hello,

I am new to this list so I hope that I am posting correctly.

My colleagues and myself were having a discussion recently on what we should do in case of an emergency during a courier trip. For those of you who courier your own museum objects using a van or other vehicle do you have a policy or check list of what to do in case of an emergency that you would be willing to share? For example, if the vehicle breaks down while an object is in it, if you get in an accident or if there is a medical emergency with one of the couriers. I have briefly searched through the AAM website and found some useful tutorials but thought I would ask for some real life scenarios here. Even if you don't courier museum objects I would still love to hear what your policies are for emergencies.

Thank you,

Diana

[DWELSH]

OR....if you would like to share your own courier stories of things that went wrong that may be helpful as well. Your stories might help us think of cases that we might not have thought of previously.

[T. Ashley McGrew]

Hi Diana, A belated welcome to PACCIN! The forum where we are writing now has a broad international exposure and availability to absolutely everyone who is interested but communications tend to be slower than the actual PACCIN listserve where your message actually shows up in the inbox of the most hardcore of us. Unless they are subscribed to this topic (and therefore recieve a notice that something has been posted) many folks won't come across questions here until they visit the site in their spare time. You may want to go to the home page and get on the listserve to get maximum feedback relatively quickly.To sort of answer your question. I would just say that luckily I remain pretty inexperienced in the area of courier/transit emergencies. The most important things in reality seem to me seem to involve mundane things like having a good cell phone provider, widely distributing contact information, and keeping batteries charged!Of course the two driver policy mandated by just about everyone exists in anticipation of many of these problems, but I think that the question points out the need to be aware of, and have good relationships with, Fine Arts Service companies in the area that you are working in. I did work for a museum during a major move project where trucks were on the road every week. We had a kit that contained traffic warning devices, tarps, rope, flashlights, reflective vests etc.... That in and of itself is pretty unremarkable. The thing that I felt good about is that the kit was always the last thing loaded on the truck and was strapped in such a way that it could be accessed regardless of the trailers orientation. With a trailer on its side in the middle of a storm (how accidents are prone to occur), in the dark, in the rain - your supplies (and your flashlight) doesn't do you too much good if it is in the front of the trailer where most equipment is normally stored!My apologies for the delay in responding. One thing that is good to factor in when posting is that a lot of us spend more time on our feet than at a desk and we can all be a bit slow to respond at times. Best regards, Ashley

[DWELSH]

Thank you, Ashley. I have joined the listserve and look forward to receiving more responses once I am confirmed. Also, thank you for your "sort of" answer. It actually does help.
Diana