All at sea
According to European Union research, quoted by the Nautilus International sailors’ union, the industry is prepared to accept the risk of a disaster costing 1,000 lives happening once every 20 years.
In other words, it is claimed that, for the sake of avoiding extra safety measures which would affect profit margins, the industry is prepared to write off the lives of its customers.
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Hide AdIf this is correct, it is simply unacceptable. While many industries have become only too conscious of health-and-safety, to the extent where costly precautions are employed, even though they are unlikely ever to be used, very few people would regard it as excessive to institute measures that would save an average of 50 lives a year.
The Government is presently pursuing the laudable aim of slashing red tape. Yet to cut regulations without giving proper thought to the effect is potentially as damaging as creating legislation without thoroughly thinking it through. The rule-of-thumb should be simple: if a safety measure is likely to save lives, its cost is worthwhile.