On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:58:00 EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >A short period of pain caused by grazes and falling is a far greater >deterrent for more serious injury than all the soft landings and >feather-bedding >that various authorities are implementing in order to stop themselves being >sued.
I suspect that waterways authorities and others wouldn't be in the least bothered (might even be mildly amused) by the sight of hundreds of risk-taking boaters writhing in agony along their canals, locks, rivers and so on. What they want is to reduce the risk to their wealth of having Mr Boater, or his heirs or dependants, successfully sue them. The present relationship between waterways authority and "customer" allows unlimited sueage, but does not have an end-user licence agreement that Brave and Noble Boaters could use to say "I am a Brave and Noble Boater who would Scorn to take legal action against the kindly waterways authority, even if it was only to check whether it was really their fault and not mine that I ended up in a wheelchair for life." >The important aspect, so far as the HSE is concerned, is that a Risk >Assessment is carried out and steps taken to minimise risk - not to remove >*all* >risk; there will always be the idiot who removes a safety guard or barrier >because it is in the way. But the important part of the risk is not the immediate event, the fall or whatever it is, but the subsequent legal proceedings, even if the authority loses the case. bjg
