Ford – Flip Flops Stamp “Float to Live” on UK Beaches

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While the people in the UK appear daft sometimes to ‘Mericans, here’s a useful bit of treacle. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) with their partners at Ford created a unique flip flop using recycled car tires They will print the charity’s vital ‘Float to Live’ message in the sand. Alas, new data show a decline in awareness of this simple but important life-saving action.

‘We want people to enjoy the coast but urge everyone to respect the water, think about their own safety and know what to do in an emergency,” said Guy Addington, RNLI Water Safety Lead. “Think about planning your trip to a beach where lifeguards are patrolling to keep you, your family and friends safe, and also ensure you are aware of the RNLI’s safety advice before getting into the sea, wherever you are holidaying… We’ve seen high numbers of people at UK beaches this summer so it’s imperative that we continue to raise awareness of important water safety advice,” he concluded.

Members of the public are being encouraged to take personal responsibility for their own and family’s safety by remembering the Float to Live technique if you’re in trouble in the water:

• Fight your instinct to thrash around
• Lean back, extend your arms and legs
• If you need to, gently move them around to help you float
• Float until you can control your breathing
• Only then, call for help or swim to safety

Ford is the official vehicle supplier to the RNLI, supporting their work with vehicles to help lifeguards patrol beaches up and down the UK. The Ranger was chosen out of eight other car manufacturers as the hero vehicle to support the RNLI in 2018. Since then, Ford has provided the RNLI with a range of Ford vehicles including the Ford Raptor, Transit Connect, Ford Kuga and even the Ford Fiesta.

1Source: Basis Research, RNLI Water Safety Survey, April 2021. Sample: 1,007 adults aged 16 to 64, nationally representative sample of the UK population