TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin What was her name?............

I don't know, I guess it would be set to deliver a mild shock, but then GEBE kicks in, with their power surges.. Now, wouldn't that be fun, 'tourist seriously injured in power surge from airport fence..' Or, even more likely, it's out half the time, when the electric is off.

With the unreliability of GEBE, I would think a back-up generator would be in order. I would also think an electric fence could easily be disabled and would be out of service many times. They (electric fences) work well for livestock but they (the livestock) are probably smarter than some of the humans this fence would be protecting.

Personally, I don't have a problem with electric, barbed wire or even razor wire but there is only so much than can be done to protect people from themselves and the chances they take.

I love the idea of an electric fence. The next day you would have multiple vendors selling rubber gloves.

I'm no "Rocket Scientist", it just seems SO much simpler than rerouting traffic, etc. And again, sadly, you can only protect people so much from themselves.

There are probably a hundred things that make more sense than closing that road altogether. Hopefully someone with some common sense will prevail in this situation.

I am not a "Rocket Scientist" by any means, but how about something as simple as Jet blast deflectors? Seems an easier solution than re routing the roads around the airport.

Not sure whether I have posted this here before, but if I have, forgive me. I talked to a pilot friend and he said that, as far as landing, per se, jet blast deflectors would not be a problem. However, he wasn't sure whether they would interfere with the instrument landing system.

If they are not in use it would have to be something like that. It just seems like a No Brainer Solution.

Oh dear! Funny, but not really! You bring up a very good point.....

Birds landing on the fence...zap zap zap <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

The electric fence idea would probably be pretty entertaining. Although it would probably cause some new problems.....

I remember growing up in the country and we could always talk one of our "City Folk" cousins into a bet of who could pee over the fence. Entertaining for us, not so much for them.......LOL

Bottom line for me is that none of us are perfect. I feel very bad for Gayleen McEwan and her family. We all do things we probably shouldn't for some type of enjoyment. Maybe it is driving too fast, eating that second piece of pie, having that extra drink, or holding on to the fence. My heart goes out to the family. I'm sure Mom, Wife, Sister, Grandma, Friend, etc. will be deeply missed!

It seems everyone can empathize with what this family has had to go through. Beyond imaginable. Just a nightmare

The setup at the Sunset is unique and makes SXM an attraction like no other place. The area is a bit landlocked making a change in the road a very challenging and expensive proposition. A risk is taken by the thrill seekers who grasp the fence and a tragedy is bound to occur as years pass. Thousands have enjoyed the SXM thrill be it holding the fence of standing in the blast and having their hat blown into the sea. Motorcycle riders take the risk every time they ride without a helmet and there are countless other examples. It is not the fault of St. Martin, it is the result of the poor decision by the individual. The area should be left alone and perhaps more graphic warnings put up in the area. Even a policeman forbidding the practice of holding the fence beats the huge cost of redirecting the traffic.