Why so many rules and regulations?
Thursday, February 25, 2010 "More people were killed building the Channel Tunnel than the Empire State Building," writes Phil Whiteley on The Free Society website today. "Yet official and unofficial records put the death toll at less than the 10 who perished building the underground link between Britain and France.
"Does that mean we should abandon hard hats? No, but it does mean that rules may play a much smaller role than we suppose in health and safety – and in many aspects of work and life.
"What saved lives in Manhattan in the 1930s, as indicated by the phenomenal productivity, will have been close camaraderie and high levels of trust among the workers looking out for each other.
"The common response from a politician to a problem is a new law banning something. But however unpleasant that thing can be, a new rule can have unintended consequences."
Full article HERE.
Reader Comments (25)
Health and safety has gone from being just that to another form of state control.
It also became a public sector growth industry in itself.
Jobs for the boys I believe is the term.
The Hard-Hat Culture (like the High Visibility Jacket Culture) is often a mystery to me.
SENSIBLE precautions against a realistically-perceived danger are, well, sensible.
Two contrary instances, however:
Man From The Council standing on pavement at the corner of my road, armed with clipboard and making notes about the house opposite. But WHY the HV jacket ?
Did he perhaps imagine that Career Psychopaths like me would thereby forego the pleasure of mounting the pavement at 50 mph in order to negotiate the corner more effectively ?
Did he imagine that a myopic pedestrian in medieval armour might otherwise come clanking into contact with his soft body-parts (causing irreparable trauma) ?
Or, what of the similar Gent With Yellow Hard Hat (probably a 'surveyor', since he wore a suit), standing in an open field, with no cranes in sight, looking down with some workmen at a trench no more than two feet in depth ? From what possible hazard was he seeking to protect his valuable cranium ?
And engine part from a 747 ? A meteorite, perhaps ?
There are just certain aspects of Earthling Dress Culture it's impossible for me to explain to my Martian Sociologist friend.
Can anyone help ?
He's preparing his thesis.....................
Hello Martin V I do so enjoy your posts and this one is no exception.
This is all about the famous precautionary principle (known in earlier eras as what happens if). This, roughly speaking, can be defined as taking all possible precautions against unspecified and unquantifiable risks at any cost. For instance, I might get run over by a car if I cross the road, the solution offered by the precautionary principle is to never cross the road. Silly isn't it.
Heretic (my FAVOURITE kind of person) -
Thanks for the kind remarks.
Ah yes - good ol' Precautionary Principle.
Devised by Cunning Folk to protect us against EVERY conceivable danger EXCEPT:
a) The imminent possibility of a much-reduced 'government' of intelligent, humane, and honourable people whose SOLE ethic is that of Service to the Nation - and the millions of mostly decent folk who inhabit it.
b) A BBC I'm glad to pay the license fee for.
c) A dinner date with Scarlett Johansson.
Apologies if I've left anything out...............
It's another excuse to remove responsibilities from the individual and transfer them to the state.
Bit late but never mind
Public health minister describes ban as "tremendous success" in health committee debate
The smoking ban has not caused pubs to close, according to public health minister Gillian Merron MP.
Despite figures showing around 40 pubs a week are currently closing Merron said the ban was not a factor in this.
She was speaking today at a meeting of the health committee in Westminster as it looked at ways the government is tackling health issues.
Merron said: “The pub trade does have challenges and I am aware of that but it isn’t the case that the ban had led to pub closures.”
Visitor from Parrellel Universe
Does Gillian Merron do stand-up in her spare time as well ?
Or did Jeremy Beadle never REALLY die ?
06/07 Movement - do you have a link for that please?
The smoking ban has not caused pubs to close? This woman will be telling us next that the moon is made of green cheese - and she will believe it!
Well that's standard political practice.
You label a disaster as a success.
http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=66476&c=1
I've found this link which someone sent me, from the Publican.
Yes - but will SOMEBODY in the House PLEASE ask Saint Gill what she MEANS by 'success' ?
People-doing-what-they're-told, I suppose - and NOT disembowelling Anti-Smoking Wardens, or lobbing Molotov Cocktails into hotel lounges (as so many of us law-abiding types had feared).
The Blair Babes really are an insult to Womankind.
They are to Honest and Intelligent Debate what the Black Death was to a Fun Day Out in the Middle Ages.
Though I doubt whether Cameron's Cuddlies (you read it here first, Folks) will prove much better - judging from last year's result in Alan Partridge's constituency.
('Dave's Dolls', perhaps ?)
Interesting Piece of Synchronicity:
The postman's just delivered a John Pilger DVD I'd ordered ("The War On Democracy").
On its cover is the interesting admonition:
"NEVER BELIEVE ANYTHING - UNTIL IT'S OFFICIALLY DENIED"
Wish I'd written that !
Many of you guys on Facebook may want to sign up for my campaign.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=348888949973&ref=mf
Dave A -
Just had a quick peek at the sort of people etc you claim to be a 'fan' of.
You REALLY are on the Side of the Angels...........
I work through an Agency as an HGV driver, when I can get the work, however, having done a fair amount for the local refuse collection company, I was asked if I would do a day litter picking. I did. HV vest and steel toe capped boots. By the time I got home my toes were bleeding!
I was back the next day, thankfully driving again. The guys said I bet you were glad you were not litter picking again today! I said I was, but had I been I would have asked if I could wear a more comfortable pair of boots. The answer would have been No! Even though whilst litter picking I was walking around the streets and estates, just like anyone else walking to the shops or walking the dog, except I was taking more notice of what was on the ground around me!
H&S has gone absolutely crazy and is now to the point where it can be more dangerous than safe!
Why so many rules and regulations?
The simple answer is jobs for the boys.
At a time of mass unemployment, the one area that experience a sustained employment spree is that of political hangers-on.
Once up and running the greatest problem for these unnecessary Quangos is their need to justify their own existence by excessive activity.
So new laws are essential for them to keep functioning, the more they can make up the bettter, its the only way they can stay in employment.
We are at the stage now where we are feeding off each other.
When or how is it going to end, I'd like to know.
There would need to be a massive cull of the quangos and those charities within charities, fake or otherwise.
How many of them are there, what are their names, what exactly do they do, are they overlapping each other, how much are they costing the economy and what is their benefit.
Will the 3 stoogies Lab/Libs/Cons take them on with an election looming if it means sacking themselves?
I dont think so.
The problem is they will be forced to cut quangos fake charities et al .
If they dont it will be a case of welcome to Greece.'
If they do cut then an increase in unemployment will happen.
In a nutshell this "moronic" government have bankrupted Britain .
I don't think most people realise how bad it is going to get.
I think it will get this bad.....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/24/greece-strikes-protest-euro
"this "moronic" government have bankrupted Britain.............."
By ACCIDENT.................or DESIGN ?
Yes, that would have seemed a Daft Question -
Once upon a time.................
By design.
To destroy all private industry and ensure everyone works for the government.
The EU government.
Scary stuff Specky, but undoubtedly true. Wonder how much the EU are paying them to fight their cause and hand the UK over, lock, stock and barrel, to the 21st century hitlers in power there?
So long as our politicians, in the main, have their pockets lined with plenty of cash, they don't give a damn about the UK or the people living here!
No they dont give a damn.
How could they care, when the plan was in its infancy from the time Bamby Blair opened the borders 10 years ago to all and sundry, putting pressure on all the services, giving them cause for the knock on effect to set the scene for increasing govt jobs and to set up the quangos.
The divide and conquer rule has worked a charm for them.
The flush of euro money, the false feeling of wealth, giving us the impression it could last forever with cheap imported labour to 'do' for us when the agenda was to bring down wages.
Then all of a sudden it goes pear shaped, regardless of economists and advisers warnings over the past ten years that was ridgedly ignored.
Now we're threatened with the European Central Bank coming in to take over management of the naughty countries who were bold little boys and were not astute enough in handling their money, after the bastards crippled us from the get go.
Oh yes, it was all in Big Brothers plan all right.
And our govts fell over themselves to help them while we were all only pawns in their game plan.
Just a quick thought.
We do not know what goes through the minds of people who say, “The smoking Ban has not caused the closure of pubs”. It may well be that Maid Marion know perfectly well that the Smoking Ban has caused the closure of pubs. But she says what she says in order to provoke the likes of you and me to say, “Oh yes it has!” She can then say, “Prove it!” Of course, it is almost impossible to ‘prove it’. She thereby avoids the question, “In what way and to what extent has the Smoking Ban increased the trade of pubs, as you said it would?”
I find it hard to believe that the members of the committee which she was addressing did not see this. But, then again, did they want to?
Post expenses scandal, there is no certainty whatsoever that politicians on committees have any objectivity at all.
Going back to Martin V's post on 25 Feb. re the Hi Viz jackets, I think the reason for wearing them is that it makes usually insignificant people feel important by wearing them because they stand out in a crowd and it makes them feel powerful. They don't realise what prats they look!
Hear, hear, Sylvia.
Some of those prats think they might even be taken for cops!
UKIP in Scotland has covered it.
http://www.ukip.org/scotland/articles/756-ukip-activist-becomes-first-smoking-ban-martyr