Jeremy Clarkson

I'm reading the excellent "The World according to Clarkson". As a Health and Safety professional I really shouldn't like Clarkson, as he has been turned into the anti-hero by the Safety press. IOSH even challenged him to a live slanging match (sorry, debate). They don't seem to realise that he speaks an awful lot of sense. Whether it is about the concept of risk and how removing all risk from people's lives is not necessarily sensible, or how an awful lot of safety rules and professionals lack common sense or reason. We try and control far too many items of people's lives from a fear of being sued.

Despite everything that is read in the press, and the vast number of ambulance chasers advertising on TV, we are not a litigious society. It is actually still difficult to bring actions to court over accidents as long as people have been reasonable.

Speed is not dangerous on a motorway with a modern car and decent road surface. Speed cameras are not the answer to road deaths - these have increased since cameras came in. The problem is poor driving ability, poor road conditions and poor enforcement of current laws. There would have been no need for a new offence of driving while using a mobile phone if the police had properly enforced the rule on driving without due care and attention!

Back to Jeremy - It is a superb book and I find myself agreeing with most of it. Slightly worrying - I'm definitely not turning into a wooly liberal!