Re: Two Deep when transporting?

Paul,

The way I was taught it in Youth Protection Training is that there should
never be a one-on-one situation between and adult and a youth unless they
are parent and child. It's always 2 or more adults for any one scout, OR
two or more scouts with one adult (as in merit badge counseling), with the
exception of a parent and their own son. The Guide says this explicitly:
"If you cannot provide two adults for each vehicle, the minimum required is
one adult and two or more youth members - never one on one." (page 4 of the
1995 edition)

The 2 deep leadership rule is entirely different. 2 deep leadership is
required for trips and outings. One of the two adults must be a registered
Scouter, and one must be over 21. This rule is intended to be a general
safety rule, providing both the legal benefits of having a registered
leader present and the availability of a backup adult in case of a crisis
or a serious injury to the other. In my opinion, the Guide does not make
clear the distinction between "2 deep" and "no one-on-one's" when it lists
these requirements on the same page and practically in the same sentence.

Then there is the question of patrol meetings and patrol outings. When I
explain these rules to parents, then talk about how they don't apply in
quite the same way to patrol activities, they say "I thought you just
said..." Oh, well, one of the joys of Scouting is trying to interpret the
mysteries of the rules.

YiS,

Rick Cordray
Committee Chair, Troop 573, Woodinville, WA
Eagle Advancement Chair, North Lakes District
Chief Seattle Council


-----Original Message-----
From: "Thompson, Paul S." <pthompson@GLGT.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 1998 9:02 PM
To: Recipients of SCOUTS-L digests
Subject: FW: Two Deep when transporting?
<snip>
"Date of trip: mm/dd/yyyy
I hereby give my son, Xxxxxx Zzzzzzzz, permission to go on a trip to
Nnnnnnnn. I understand that the Boy Scouts of America has a policy that
two adults be in the car during a trip. I am voluntarily waiving this
requirement and give permission to the driver to authorize medical care
in the event of an emergency and I cannot be reached at the below phone
number(s). This permission is only granted for a single round trip on
the date above to and from the destination listed above."

This form bothers me in that it clearly states that we will be operating
outside of the rules of the BSA (talk about civil disobedience!). On the
other hand, I'm not sure if the BSA actually REQUIRES two adults in the
car. Really, I think this form isn't worth the pixels used to display
it.

The Guide to Safe Scouting has been no help on this (at least I know not
to convoy the 2 vehicles).

So, please, in private notes to me, should I use this form or create a
different form?

Paul S. Thompson
Committee Chairman
Pack 287, Romeo, Michigan
Ojibwa District
Clinton Valley Council

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