PANAMA CITY, Fla. Rain or shine, it’s nearly Gulf Coast Jam time! With large crowds expected, Lt. James Dinse from the Panama City Beach Police Department joined NewsChannel 7 Today to discuss road and music festival safety. The festival weekend will see both rain and sun. Lt. Dinse urges those in the rain to pay attention to resources such as Gulf Coast Jam’s social media pages for updates, especially in the event of a weather-related evacuation. Additionally, when it comes to the heat, staying hydrated, using the water stations at the event, and applying sunscreen are essential. Other areas of concern include traffic and overall road safety. PCBPD will be on site directing traffic, but Lt. Dinse says utilizing Uber and Lyft, as well as having a pickup and drop-off plan, are important for mitigating traffic congestion. “Patience is key to this.” Another good idea if attending Gulf Coast Jam is to set up a buddy system for safety. “We always encourage people, use your instincts, pay attention to those. If you see something, say something. Find a staff member, find security, find a staff member, find a police officer. We just really encourage everybody to pay attention to those little things because you may save someone’s life.”
