1 post tagged “health and safety”
The latest stupidity regarding health and safety laws has emerged once again, as seen here in the Daily Mail. After saving a schoolgirl from a near drowning, the boat was immediately confiscated and impounded by health and safety executives. The reason being, was that the boat had required a hull inspection by a health & safety expert so as to pass it as fit for service.
Apparently there has been a serious breach of regulations and the incident and crew are now being investigated. One can only imagine the concern these crew-members and their families must be feeling right now, as this rather arbitrary organisation set up by government has got some rather sharp teeth.
Like much with government regulation we are for the most part blissfully unaware of how we may one day fall foul of it. There are rules for just about anything these days. It’s a surprise that we actually get through the day without breaking some of them in complete ignorance. However, this case clearly illustrates the inability of government to make a rational and indeed moral judgment correctly. If one is to break down the concerns regarding the danger this boat posed to anyone, there are perhaps 3 distinct areas we have to consider.
1 – The crew voluntarily decided to risk their own lives.
Not one of them was forced to go out on that boat, they decided on their own volition (something govt could consider when it points guns at people all the time).
2 - The only boat available was some 25 minutes away.
Which held the obvious risk of getting to this girl too late.
3 - The crew had paid to fix it and were only awaiting a clearence certificate.
With their great experience of boats they would have been left in no doubt that the risk was minimal at best.
Given all these circumstances one can safely assume that the crew made a valued and reasoned judgement to go and rescue this girl. They even asked for permission, for which transmission was lost (thank God).
Now I am sure that these guys will be ok, particular since they have the Daily Panic behind them (Daily Mail). These guys are unlikely to face any real recriminations for their actions, as the press would likely cause a stink stronger than Gordon Browns pants. However, this is not really my concern, my real concern is the one where anyone could find themselves in by complete accident. A story of perhaps lesser virtue may not have the benefits of press protection and could lead to the imprisonment, fining or lost reputation that this putrid organisation can and does inflict on any individual and entity it deems fit to remonstrate against.
