Posted by Peter Ceresole on January 14, 2008 at 19:33:00 from 80.176.146.133 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Re: A refreshing take on personal safety posted by Owen Roberts on January 14, 2008 at 12:16:03:
To be fair some of this is not only down to H&S but because we live in an increasingly litigeous age.
I think that's the key to it. Increased litigiousness (far worse in the USA than in Britain) has killed entire businesses, but it's far easier to invoke H&S regulations, even if they're only barely relevant, that to admit to a fear of being sued. After all, the H&S regs are here and now, whereas being sued is prospective.
Obviously I can't be sure in this case, but the traction engine rally you refer to is far more likely to have closed because of the escalating cost of insurance cover, than for H&S reasons.
I've made programmes about the history of the Trades Union movement and working lives in Britain, and all I can say is that H&S regulations were, and still are, desperately necessary.