Posted By Laurie
David

I fear that the answer may be tied up with the perception that "up North" with our historical dependence on heavy industry such as coal, foundrywork, shipbuilding etc we have, God help us, come to accept serious industrial accidents as simply an occupational hazard whether we be operators or jurists.

I still teach that the farther north you work, the more likely your employer is to kill you, with apologies to the many conscientious employers north of Watfored

Laurie

Posted By Alec Wood
Yes indeed, given the construction boom in the South, and the fact that the heavy industry of the North has been transformed into call centres, I would love to see some data to back that one up too!

Alec Wood
Samsung Electronics.

Posted By steve e ashton
Ooh the parochiality (???) of the Ingerandlish.

'Up North' ?? You obviously don't know the meaning of the words....

Ever heard of Sheriff Courts?? Now that's North...

I would be very interested in seeing a comparison between the ingerlish and the scottyland court punishments along the lines indicated. I know there have been some very substantial fines imposed on a petroleum / chemicals site operator in the central belt (that's central belt scottyland). Do they still hold the record for a HSWA fine?

Steve

Posted By fats van den raad
Or, while we're at it, what about a comparrison between UK fines etc. and other countries in the EU that are supposed to be following the same laws, directives, etc.??

Posted By John Webster
Sorry, Mark, but as far as we are concerned, you are just a "Sooth Mooth"!!

The true north (yes I come from Lancashire, which I used to think of as the North, but now realise barely makes it into midlands) has always been bereft of heavy industry. Here high risk occupations predominate. Agriculture, forestry (no-not in Orkney & Shetland where a lumberjack is as useful as a snow-plough operator in Singapore), fishing and of course oil exploration & production. Remote and lone working is the norm. The last census included a section asking mode of travel to work. There wasn't a box for 'boat', the normal daily mode of 'commuting' for hundreds of islanders, including schoolchildren. The weather is, at best, unpredictable. In winter, hurricane force winds whip seas to a boiling cauldron. Areas can be cut off for days or a week by drifting snow. Yet these are the conditions into which the lifeboat never fails to set sail, where the electricity linesman battles to restore power.

History tells of terrible tragedies. Of ships and helicopters lost. Just like in the mines further south, these tragedies affected whole communities and, in a way, bound them together.

So has this made us more accepting of death in the North? Is life somehow cheaper? I think not. Just the opposite. It is the attitude towards compensation which is different. Generalisation, sure, but up north, there is a much greater reluctance to take a neighbour to court. Much more likely for the community to close ranks and provide many forms of 'compensation' from within.

Whilst there will be an equal desire to make things better, to make sure the same thing can't happen again, there is not always the same desire to have to find someone to blame, to create a sueable scapegoat.

Posted By Pete Stewart
There is no doubt that other EU countries follow the same Directives as we do. Its just that they follow them at a distance, usually a very long one, whereas we seem to always want to be the first through the tapes unless its the Olympics.