tomogull wrote:
I see where you're coming from Portugal. The stewarding costs are probably astronomical in relation to gate receipts but as Matt so bluntly puts it, there's feck all we can do about it ! It is money that could possibly be used elsewhere but the club isn't wasting money as all clubs are required to provide stewards at matches. The likelihood of a serious incident at Plainmoor may be very remote. Some health & safety regulations seem ridiculous on the face of it and Elf & Safety has become fair game for comedians. But going back to Forever's post, what nobody knows, or can even make a guess, is how many lives have been saved by the introduction of Health & Safety measures ?
Yeah, lives have been saved, but there has to come a point where we draw the line and say that life carries with it an inherent danger and that the costs of mitigating effectively against that danger outweigh the benefits. This is the problem with the Speed Kills lobby. Yes, the faster you're going, the more likely it is that you'll be killed if you crash, but equally, the less time it takes to get to your destination. The only truly safe speed is zero. If we completely ignore the realities of life, then sure, we can make the roads totally casualty free. All it will mean is that we have to regress to the state we were in 2000 years ago, where the only method of transportation was walking. That was the last time that getting from A to B was truly safe. If that is a price worth paying, then pay it. If not, then accept that everything is dangerous (relatively) and act accordingly.
I've been to some incredibly dangerous places. I've piloted aircraft, ridden motorcycles in shorts and a t-shirt, driven at eyewatering speed, used a chainsaw, spent masses of time handling firearms, skied without a helmet, walked to work along a 70mph A road, ridden poorly maintained Chinese rollercoasters, flown over the Grand Canyon with Papillon Airways, the company with the poorest safety record in aviation history*. I've wandered about the red half of Liverpool in a blue hat and on the seafront in the face of 30 foot waves. I've walked through unlit San Diego streets in the early morning and a million and one other "dangerous" things. None of it with the aid of the HSE and the worst thing that's ever happened to me was that once, a long time ago, I stubbed my toe on the coffee table. Some on here will have you believe that I am one of the stupidest people in the country, so you've got to ask yourself, that the hell are the rest of you doing so wrong?
Matt.
* this probably isn't true, but I have read that they're far from safety conscious.
Anyway, football, it's good, innit?
