Steve Hughes on health and safety - BBC

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1. Ha, have lived most of my life in the Netherlands and now 14 years in Australia. Yes, Australia is a nanny state in some ways. You wonder why they're running out of jail cells here. Because even the tiniest little offence has a jail sentence attached to it. The Netherlands is actually closing one jail after another because people get an education and trade training in jail and have a job and stable life lined up when they get out. So people are less likely to reoffend.
   
   As for no fences along a canal, I suggest you look up ship launches in the Netherlands on youtube. Either the Dutch just have a lot more balls, or they just know what they're doing.
   
   All those health and safety regulators are only there to prevent people from suing a company for their own stupid mistakes.
2. right up my husbands alley.
3. Yeah!! Bloody nanny state. Makes you nostalgic for the days when you could build your house out of asbestos and firelighters, employ a five year old to clean your chimney and send your kids to school on a bus driven by a vodka soaked alcoholic without some lefty bloody do-gooder trying to rob us of our civil liberties.
4. Wahahahaha! what a legend! hahaha
5. That's so true! I'm dutch and when I get hurt my (also dutch) mom just tells me not to be stupid. "Does it hurt?" "A-a little bit, mom." "Well use your brain the next time."
6. Hahaha ROFL XD
   But your wrong about Amsterdam though - just watch The Bike Instructor's Guide to Amsterdam (also on youtube). It is like .... everywhere in Amsterdam =P Can't miss it (even if you wanted to)
7. welcome to fluoro jacket world
8. Steve is great. Big fan!
9. Pfff! Health and safety managers! They're just tools used to protect corporations and governments from litigation.. It's not corporate oppression (though it may be a convenient by product of H&S laws) it's because society has become hyper litigious.
10. Health and safety managers are needed because unfortunately some people don't exhibit enough common sense and then decide blaming someone else is an appropriate course of action.
11. As a Health and Safety Manager I feel like I have to respond too some of the comments. Yes when walking down the street and you notice a gaping hole in the road you will go around it. Placing a sign is not to inform you you should not fall in the hole, but to alert you that there is a hole. The danger-sign and text is there because subconsciously you notice the sign and text even when you do not consciously read or observe it. It's not a coincidence that the advertising industry works the same way. It's pretty effective. Just watch Subliminal Advertising Experiment with Derren Brown about subliminal advertising. Words like DANGER, FALL and DROWN are very effective triggerwords in our mind and makes us snap out of a subconsious flow like while driving and working. The colors yellow and black do the same, just like the triangular signs.
12. Amsterdam is amazing, nearly got hit by a speedy tram, luckily I had a brain and I stepped to the side and avoided it, went onwards to yummy life and beer
13. The average age of death in the world has little to do with health and safety. It is much more due to developments in hospitality and healthcare services. Besides, it takes a lot of freedom and enjoyment out of life. ('He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life'- muhammad ali)
14. hahaha You must be working in offshore where they decide everything for you.. of course health and safety is important! but till a curtain level... to much makes you a moron. and I know, I'm Dutch and I have been mainly working in UK offshore for the last 10 years. so who has the shitty jobb???
15. He is right. Health and safety is common sense! We live longer because of better healthcare etc not H and S regulations.... Moron haha
16. Haha you guys must work in shitty jobs if you think health and safety isn't important Ever notice how humans now live to ~80 years? (hint we didn't always)
17. because most of us dutch people aren't complete morons and know how to drive and cross streets safely :|
18. Lol wow...
19. AMSTERDAM!!
20. dude.. if you can't tell that he is Australian than there is something wrong with you :P