By Natalee Kerr
Chinese tourists can scan new signs along the Surf Coast for water safety advice in a state-first trial.
Quick Response (QR) codes on the signs from Torquay to Apollo Bay were an “important step” for communicating water-safety messages, said Life Saving Victoria’s Rhiannon Birch.
The signs would be particularly useful to Chinese visitors, who would be the coast’s ” biggest international audience”, Ms Birch said.
They could scan the codes with smart phones for “immediate” access safety information in their native language, she said.
“We know that people aren’t that great at understanding signs and may miss important information.
“With the QR codes users are directed to specific resources based on their geographic location and can view information in Mandarin, such as the nearest surf lifesaving club.“
“QR codes are convenient and very popular in China. They’re used pretty much everywhere.“
The Surf Coast is one of Victoria’s most dangerous places for drowning, with 15 deaths occurring between July 2001 and June 2017.
“It’s a continuous drowning blackspot area and a majority of these drownings are happening at our beaches,” Ms Birch said.
The trial would run until June, with the first set of data due next week, she said.
“If this pilot project is successful we hope to replicate this for other languages to continue to improve the safety along our coastline.”
