life in the ideal world

Talk Electrician Forum

Help Support Talk Electrician Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

phil d

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2016
Messages
1,686
Reaction score
143
Location
merseyside
Following the sad death of a 7 year old child in Essex over the weekend in an accident involving a bouncy castle,an MP for the area involved appeared on tv and came out with what I would class as an unbelievably stupid statement,he said,quote "I'd like to see bouncy castles banned from Essex until they can be guaranteed risk free". What a stupid statement to make,how can anything be totally risk free? A child could fall on a bouncy castle and break a limb,not through anyones fault,just by the nature of bouncing around,let's be honest,everything carries some risk,you could slip in the shower,you could choke eating your tea.Whilst I feel very sorry for the parents who have lost their child,I do wish people would think before they come out with stupid statements,or does this guy live in some utopia where there are no risks whatsoever?

 
Okay I'll probably get de scoobed for saying this, but here goes:

So you erect a bouncy castle, and the wind takes it away killing a child, you get charged with manslaughter.

You drive a bin lorry through Glasgow, knowing you have a medical condition that makes you black out that you have hidden, kill 7 people and get away with it.

Yes the bouncy castle WAS a tragic ACCIDENT but it does not deserve a charge of manslaughter.

Off you go and hit the red button if that enrages you.

 
I agree with you Dave,while  there are no such things as accidents, let's be honest that tragedy  could have been avoided if the people  doing the castle  had secured it properly or not  used it in the  windy conditions then the tragedy could have been avoided. However in the bin lorry case,not only did the driver know about his condition he deliberately lied to get the job and that in my opinion is far worse. 

 
Okay I'll probably get de scoobed for saying this, but here goes:

So you erect a bouncy castle, and the wind takes it away killing a child, you get charged with manslaughter.

You drive a bin lorry through Glasgow, knowing you have a medical condition that makes you black out that you have hidden, kill 7 people and get away with it.

Yes the bouncy castle WAS a tragic ACCIDENT but it does not deserve a charge of manslaughter.

Off you go and hit the red button if that enrages you.


Sorry Dave I just couldn't de-scoob that so I hit the green button instead

 
The bit that made me boil was the clown from the federation of hirers of inflatables (or whatever name they give themselves) saying that the operators were not to have known that a wind gust was going to happen and had the of known them they would have erected the inflatable. Now forgive me, have not the met centre only last year invested millions in a super computer for more accurate weather predictions? Or do the travelling operators not have access to weather reports? 

Clearly profit over safety again that leads to heart ache. 

 
Totally agree Sharpend, bouncy castles have been known to take off before in high winds so using it in a gale is pure negligence unless they can demonstrate they took extra precautions to fix it down. 

My son fractured his wrist getting off a bouncy castle as he fell over and his hand went between the safety mats. The mats weren't fixed in position so could clearly move around, the ground was baked had by sunshine (it was a few years ago) and the mats had as much padding left in them as the average pancake. I nearly pursued a claim, but quite frankly, the chance of succeeding with a 'travelling family' was ****** all, so didn't bother. That, and it wasn't like they were deliberately trying to cause an injury, they just hadn't fully mitigated the risks / didn't give a damn.??

 
This always happens with hindsight , someone must be blamed if you interview a local politician .

Lets think , I agree that the Bouncy man did not leave home that morning with the intent to kill someone ....but ...as with us electricians , we didn't have that intent either ....but ...... there is a duty of care for our actions .

I guess that on normal days , bouncy castles are NOT tied down ...............this then becomes the norm ...and then a gale blows and we have the death of a child .     I'm thinking someone was negligent , someone should have checked the weather forecast  .

I'm watching the Alton Towers case ,  a visitor interviewed on TV said he reported to a member of staff that there was an empty car on the tracks  and another run was starting .    He was told they knew what they were doing and to , basically, mind his own business .

They would not listen or act on what he said.    

I've heard no mention of the guy since.

 
Probably viewed as an interfering do gooder. 

It bewilders me as to why the human always thinks he knows best and rarely takes consultation from another. 

How much time or effort would it have taken to A) check the weather forecast, B) Tie the balloon down, C) (Alton Towers) make a visual check to either confirm or negate the onlookers concerns???

yet time is so precious these days that we fail on the little things that take little time. 

The question is will we learn? 

 
you wouldnt really need to check the weather forecast. if its calm then its unlikely to be any gales, and may not need fixed down. if it starts getting windy, then fix it down. simple

 
strong winds enough to blow it away dont just happen without any warning. you will get some warning first in that it will get windy. if that happens, then either secure it / get everyone off until it is secured

they might not be waiting for it, just like they might not be waiting for the fans to fail, but they should be close enough to take action if something does go wrong / conditions change

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I totally agree Andy, however if you see the prat on the telly the other night he said the gust was just that an unexpected gust that carried the balloon away!!! Really??

 
An accident is just that, an accident.

No amount of legislation can prevent them.

Legislation can lay down ground rules for “operators of bouncy castles”, how in the name of god do you interpret them or enforce them?

Simple, ban bouncy castles. The legislator would need to be even more of a miserable git than I am.

Under normal circumstances kids bounce. They fall out of trees, fall off bikes, etc, etc. Fall off a bench during PE at school and the legal vultures gather.

London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense:

'Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: 
   Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault. 
   Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). 
  
   His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. 
   Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. 
   Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. 
   Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. 
  
   Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want it Now, Someone else is to blame, and I'm an Essex victim.


Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.' 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
common sense says the operator would have prevented this death instead of thinking of the pennies going in his pocket.

With regards to the cup of coffee incident, it wasn't just hot, it was scolding hot having been warmed by steam in McDonalds (wonder why we don't see that anymore), so when she spilled it, it actually caused quite serious skin damage. Not aware of the other cases, but I think if you look into these there is a lot more behind the scenes than it would appear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants

 
Coffee shouldn’t be made with water at that temperature as it scalds the esters ruining the taste. A pot of tea should be made with water “on the boil” to scald the tannin and enhance the flavour.

Do we now have to ban tea? You’re a braver man than I if you dare suggest it.

 
Top