Flagging a colourful way to make our beaches safer

I HAVE been reading the recent debate on beach safety, tourists, migrants and the frustrations of the surf life savers with people, among other thing, ignoring the flags on the beach.

It may sound like heresy but why can’t we consider changing flag colours on the beach to represent beach conditions?

The safe, patrolled or less dangerous area on a beach could be indicated by green flags and the unsafe, unpatrolled or more dangerous area of a beach could be indicated by red flags.

No matter where you go in the world a green traffic light says it is safe you can go and a red traffic light says it is not safe so stop.

A green light/walking figure at a pedestrian crossing says go, it is safe to walk, while a red one says stop, it is not safe to walk.

All over the world from an early age we are conditioned that green says safe and red means unsafe. I think our current flag of red/yellow would be confusing to a lot of people and quite frankly that would also include home grown Australians.

Why can’t the same thought process apply to beach flags?

I can hear the howls of protest even as I type this. There will be the mantra of “we have always done it this way”.

I am not suggesting we change the red/yellow uniform that the clubbies wear, as it is important that they stand out.

Green flags would indicate the safe swim between area and a few red flags up and down the beach may well work in funnelling the less well informed beach user towards the safe area.

I accept there will always be people who, for want of a word, will be idiots and not use the safe area. If, however, we can simplify the safe/unsafe flag signage to colours that are an international standard it may well help.