Safety culture slipping up

SIR – The snow and ice over the past week brought about a welcome change to the humdrum routine of daily life for all members of the family. But the snow s victory over everyday life is not one that we as a nation should be proud of: the withdrawal of Lo

SIR - The snow and ice over the past week brought about a welcome change to the humdrum routine of daily life for all members of the family.

But the snow's victory over everyday life is not one that we as a nation should be proud of: the withdrawal of London buses, the debacle over road gritting, the vast swathe of schools closures and the complete absence of refuse collections throughout Welwyn Hatfield all week!

At the root of this is the risk adverse, health and safety culture that pervades society; everything is carefully assessed so as to eliminate any possible risk or harm and then if there is any deviation from the norm, it is always assumed better to cease providing the service than risk something going wrong.

Last week's 'snow event' marks the beginning of the end of mankind's ability to develop skills such as initiative and common sense.

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