Some people will go to great and dangerous lengths to snap the perfect pic...especially when they're on vacation. A while back I took a trip to The Grand Canyon, and I was standing at a railing looking out over the landscape. Just beyond the railing was a massive cliff, but a rock was jutting out over it. All of a sudden this young guy climbed over the railing and crawled out onto the rock then turned around for his friend to snap a photo! I still can't believe that guy didn't fall!
Many people have been injured or even died while trying to take selfies at our National Parks. Back in October, a couple plummeted to their deaths while attempting to take a selfie at Yosemite National Park. In fact, The Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care reports 259 deaths caused by selfie taking from 2011 to 2017.
Now The US National Park Service has come up with a way to help prevent “selfie deaths.” They've created selfie stations in safe, photo worthy areas. These wooden stands also have info suggesting the best spots in the park for taking a photo. Iowa has had a lot of success with the new system. Find out more about their Selfie Stations HERE. National Parks in Wisconsin and Minnesota have installed Selfie Stations as well.
The parks are also testing out timed tickets, crowd-monitoring apps, traffic-reducing autonomous vehicles and other ideas.