Health and Safety : Part 25000000012

[Ferret]

A lovely Christmas tree has appeared at Darlington station on the northbound side. It looks really nice, with the lights etc. Just one thing spoils it though - the 2 foot high crash barriers surrounding it that seem to have been half-inched from the Highways Agency! FFS, why on earth do you need to surround a Christmas tree with those?! What on earth is this country coming to.

If it wasn't going to get me the sack, I'd get off later and take a photo, then send it to that berk Littlejohn at the Daily Mail for him to pontificate about!

End of rant. (For now)

 

[transportphoto]

Anyone able to snap a photo of this? I'm intrigued!

TP

 

[ainsworth74]

End of rant. (For now)

Aaaand breath

I agree though I was there recently and saw it myself and it is a shame that's it's surrounded by barriers and does seem a trifle unnecessary.

 

[Ferret]

Aaaand breath

I agree though I was there recently and saw it myself and it is a shame that's it's surrounded by barriers and does seem a trifle unnecessary.

It just totally ruins the effect! All of us crew on here can't believe how stupid it looks!

Ranting now giving way to laughter at the stupidity of it all!

 

[Greenback]

I think that the main reason for barriers is that Christmas trees seem to present an unmissable opportunity for people who have had a few drinks to demonmstrate their climbing prowess.

I remembe rna unfortunate incident in Reading in the 1990's where an acquaintance of some friends of mine decided to prove how easy it was to climb the Broad St tree, only to become a little stuck, which required the attendance of the fire service to effect a rescue.

While it is no doubt a harmless bit of fun to those involved, it does mean that the emergency services are spending time dealing with these types of incidents instead of being available for other emergencies, so I can see why it is done.

 

[Ferret]

I think that the main reason for barriers is that Christmas trees seem to present an unmissable opportunity for people who have had a few drinks to demonmstrate their climbing prowess.

I remembe rna unfortunate incident in Reading in the 1990's where an acquaintance of some friends of mine decided to prove how easy it was to climb the Broad St tree, only to become a little stuck, which required the attendance of the fire service to effect a rescue.

While it is no doubt a harmless bit of fun to those involved, it does mean that the emergency services are spending time dealing with these types of incidents instead of being available for other emergencies, so I can see why it is done.

This answers the question I posed earlier doesn't it?! Welcome to the UK - a nation where the lowest common denominator dictates how things will be for everyone else!

 

[Greenback]

This answers the question I posed earlier doesn't it?! Welcome to the UK - a nation where the lowest common denominator dictates how things will be for everyone else!

Yep! Or the country where drunken idiots spoil it for everyone else! The Christmas trees in Swansea have had barriers around them for years!

 

[kylemore]

I think that the main reason for barriers is that Christmas trees seem to present an unmissable opportunity for people who have had a few drinks to demonmstrate their climbing prowess.

I remembe rna unfortunate incident in Reading in the 1990's where an acquaintance of some friends of mine decided to prove how easy it was to climb the Broad St tree, only to become a little stuck, which required the attendance of the fire service to effect a rescue.

While it is no doubt a harmless bit of fun to those involved, it does mean that the emergency services are spending time dealing with these types of incidents instead of being available for other emergencies, so I can see why it is done.

Right enough I can see a 2 ft high barrier presenting an insurmountable barrier to the average drunk!

Why not put a nice natural wood fence round it with perhaps evergreens adorning it - thats the sort of thing they'd do in Germany or France or anywhere where common sense still has a toehold.

 

[Oswyntail]

......lWhy not put a nice natural wood fence round it with perhaps evergreens adorning it - thats the sort of thing they'd do in Germany or France or anywhere where common sense still has a toehold.

And then have "the people" complaining about unnecessary expense.

 

[Lampshade]

Urgh, they could have at least used the ornamental picket fences they use in shopping centres.

 

[ainsworth74]

I'll be passing through Darlington on Saturday and I'll try and get a picture of it if I can (and no one else beats me to the punch).

 

[Greenback]

Right enough I can see a 2 ft high barrier presenting an insurmountable barrier to the average drunk!

That's very true of course, but in attempting to clambe rove rit the average drunk will probably either fall and injure themselves, or get into such a mess with their legs that they change their mind!

 

[StoneRoad]

Quite some time ago, and in another area!
I was told that barriers were to stop *people* half-inching the decorations / wrapped boxes / lights.

 

[GearJammer]

Quite some time ago, and in another area!
I was told that barriers were to stop *people* half-inching the decorations / wrapped boxes / lights.

Yeah that makes more sence :roll: people will nick anything these days but i agree they could make an effore to make the fence more festive looking.

 

[kylemore]

That's very true of course, but in attempting to clambe rove rit the average drunk will probably either fall and injure themselves, or get into such a mess with their legs that they change their mind!

Quite possibly, however it would be better if they fell in amongst the tree then they'd get a nasty case of NEEDLE RASH, which if you've ever worked with real xmas trees in a Garden Centre for instance you know how nasty that can be. That'll put them off climbing xmas trees for life

 

[ainsworth74]

The images are terrible as I was in a rush and they were taken on my mobile (a deadly combination to good photography!) but I'm sure they'll give everyone an idea of what we're talking about:

 

[maniacmartin]

Thanks for the pictures. I was envisaging something more like this (which is put round some christmas trees I've seen down south), so its not as bad as it could have been

 

[ainsworth74]

I think in some ways that might have been a bit (emphasis on bit) better because at least it isn't bright orange!

 

[tbtc]

Again, Health And Safety is getting blamed for everything when it's not legislation that prevents unobstructed access to the tree, it's a worry about of drunken idiots/ thieves/ vandals.

No wonder people think H&S is A Bad Thing (despite the fact that they are generally misguided)

 

[Ferret]

Again, Health And Safety is getting blamed for everything when it's not legislation that prevents unobstructed access to the tree, it's a worry about of drunken idiots/ thieves/ vandals.

No wonder people think H&S is A Bad Thing (despite the fact that they are generally misguided)

Hmmmm, I hardly think that fence will deter thieves. Your mention of drunken idiots appears to contradict your assertion that it's nowt to do with H&S too!

PS, point taken though - H&S is a good thing a lot of the time, apart from when it's taken to extremes and it becomes an absurdity.

 

[Smudger105e]

Hmmmm, I hardly think that fence will deter thieves. Your mention of drunken idiots appears to contradict your assertion that it's nowt to do with H&S too!

PS, point taken though - H&S is a good thing a lot of the time, apart from when it's taken to extremes and it becomes an absurdity.

Who says when a decison that has been made becomes an OTT decision? So often in this life people are wise after the fact. What if the fence was not put there, and someone pulled the tree over, injuring themselves or somone else?

Also any security or protection issue gets labelled as a Health & Safety issue, even though it may not be covered by legislation, so imho H&S gets a bad press a lot of the time.

I do agree, however, that the type of fence used here is rather unsubtle, a plain galvanised metal one may have been better, but perhaps that was all that was available at the time...

 

[tbtc]

Hmmmm, I hardly think that fence will deter thieves. Your mention of drunken idiots appears to contradict your assertion that it's nowt to do with H&S too!

PS, point taken though - H&S is a good thing a lot of the time, apart from when it's taken to extremes and it becomes an absurdity.

Stopping drunken idiots from doing something like vandalism isn't necessarily the same as H&S though.

Sadly threads like this, with their suggestion that Health And Safety is at the root of everything give the impression that it's yet more bureaucracy ("red tape gone mad" etc). No evidence that H&S is the real reason for the barriers here.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

any security or protection issue gets labelled as a Health & Safety issue, even though it may not be covered by legislation, so imho H&S gets a bad press a lot of the time

This.

H&S is always portrayed as the bad guy in the media (like the suggestion here that this is one of a billion bits of red tape) which ignores the fact that it's normally something like people worried about vandalism/ being sued

 

[Greenback]

As I implied earlier in the thread, I don't believe this is an H&S issue either. Rather, it is a cheap way to try and deter access to the tree by people who don't need access to it!

 

[Ferret]

As I implied earlier in the thread, I don't believe this is an H&S issue either. Rather, it is a cheap way to try and deter access to the tree by people who don't need access to it!

Why in God's name should that be necessary?! Is that not a bit of a sad reflection on our society?

 

[tbtc]

Why in God's name should that be necessary?! Is that not a bit of a sad reflection on our society?

...because people vandalise things, people meddle... nothing to do with actual H&S legislation though (yet it gets blamed, again)

 

[ainsworth74]

I was at several different stations yesterday on my travels and several of the larger ones had Christmas trees. All of them had barriers and all of the barriers fitted in much better with the tree and surrounds. Glasgow Queen Street, for example, had a wooden picket fence around it's tree, far nicer than bright orange barriers that wouldn't look out of place protecting some road works! I accept that we can't just have a tree in the middle of station (for whatever reason) but I think at Darlington they could have put a bit more effort in.

 

[SickyNicky]

Yeah that makes more sence :roll: people will nick anything these days...

I'm sorry to report that's true. Someone actually stole one of the Christmas trees from our church a few days ago, complete with decorations and lights. And we live in a little town in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Harbon 1]

It's not even like its in an open area. It's hidden behind a pillar

 

[Peter Mugridge]

London Victoria's tree is fully accessible. So is the helter-skelter at st Pancras that masquerades as a tree. There is another unbarriered tree on the central platform at Sutton.

 

[Crossover]

How ridiculous do those barriers look?!

If any management suggest it being to do with H&S, I think a bit of this would be needed!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Here was Dewsbury's barriers last year...much more inkeeping (but just as useless!)

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=934655&postcount=22361