Oh no! Safety has been Here!
There’s nothing quite like that sinking feeling when you are inadvertently assaulted by the crusade of Safety. Just when you thought you were free to learn, discover, play and relax, you get confronted yet again by the Safety monster. It seems Safety lurks in every corner of our existence now, ‘telling’ us that risk doesn’t make sense, when it does (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/risk-makes-sense/). When zero is your governing ideology then petty risk becomes your saviour.
I was at a play-ground yesterday with my grandson and having great fun in play, discovering what our bodies could do on: equipment, ladders, slides, drops, sand, diggers, intentional hazards and water equipment. All the things banned on a building site and lurking around a corner at the back end of a structure was this sign:
Really? You couldn’t make this s&*t up.
For a start, the equipment for play is mostly used by kids who can’t read. Parents sit far away and have a coffee whilst their children play, That’s the general idea of a play-ground. A place where children have fun, discover what they can do and not do, explore, experiment, have adventure and learn. Oh no, not for Safety. Safety has to come in and tell you what Australian standard has been breeched in the structure of the equipment! Astounding, and insanity.
Whilst all the children under 5 years of age played and enjoyed themselves having fun, I was glad none of them could see or read this sign that serves absolutely no purpose except appeasing the safety crusader who put it there. This is the ultimate in semiotic safety stupidity.
Play is essential to all learning (https://safetyrisk.net/the-primacy-of-play-in-learning/). Only the global cult of zero doesn’t want any play (https://safetyrisk.net/believe-the-impossible-and-speak-nonsense-to-people/). The only way anyone can achieve zero is to enforce no risk or to ensure that fallible people are not involved in anything.
One of the prime purposes of a play-ground is for children to discover, imagine and explore in curiosity (https://safetyrisk.net/the-imagination-and-curiosity-in-risk/). To do things they have not done before and learn about their bodies and what they can do. Oh no, watch out if Safety pays a visit. We’ll have none of that stuff around here.
So, after viewing that sign I decided to audit all the things that Safety had ignored. You see, this is thee way of Safety, the zero cult creates selective safety not safety. Here a few glaring omissions:
· One of my favourites was an area where rocks had been placed on a declines in a zig zag pattern on the surface so that kids could walk and run between the rocks and weave around the pattern. Hmmm, no warning of slippery surface.
· Ah, there was the rope ladder that went straight up that had no guard protection and could easily fall, no heights warning.
· The sand pit with metal diggers and swinging arms and no warning of moving activity or collisions.
· The wide slide with no secure climb to get to the top and no warning about uncontrolled decent.
· The swings not guarded including the standing swing, scary stuff
· The merry-go-round, a great place for collisions and falls.
· Mallets on music towers to hit others
· Water pumps and slippery surfaces
· And much more.
No, No, No, no other sign existed in the play-ground except this one illustrated on the back of a wooden structure and more so, ‘telling’ the Australian Standard. No wonder people think safety is a cultic backwater and unprofessional when you witness the insanity of Safety.
When you make your ideology zero, the insanity starts.
Dr Rob Long
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Rob Long says
Similarly I get invited to help schools with risk assessment. I often get called in after the school gets all tangled up in some 80 page document they have downloaded from a safety crusader, thinking this will help with legal liability when it won’t. Most times we have a walk and talk and then cut the document down to 2-4 pages.
You only need a few minutes with Greg Smith on the realities of legal liability to know that this sign is meaningless. You could post a written risk assessment on each apparatus in the play-ground and it would also be meaningless. You can also put up one of those signs at the front of the play-ground that you see where councils absolve themselves of responsibility if you enter the gate. All safety mythology.
One needs to look at actually what happens and what the courts do about petty injury in play-grounds. Most of what safety believes about legal liability and due diligence is pure mythology. Most of the petty rubbish that is believes is fueled by the nonsense of zero and 1% safety ideology. IF any of that stuff came out in a court room a lawyer would have a field day with it.
David Combs says
Good stuff Rob. About 5 years ago I got invited to attend a Certified Playground Safety Inspector course and at first I was all about it. I like kids and if this keeps kids safe, I’m for it. After the first day of the 3 day course I realized that this isn’t at all about keeping kids safe. Well, it is sort of but, as you’ve stated, its really about keeping the kid’s parents from potentially suing the playground owner in the event of an injury.
Bernard Corden says
If a graffiti artist was caught spray painting in the playground they would receive a community service sentence.
Rob long says
Brian, it’s even worse when you see where it was placed. The playground is just an endless set of adventures and challenges, all hazards intentional. Then this as if somehow information for disabled access when the whole site would require high supervision of any person with a disability. Then this. Even if supervising wheelchair movement on the site this sign is senseless.
Brian Edwin Darlington says
Rob, I could not believe it when opening this blog this morning. This is probably one of the most stupid signs I have seen for a long time. I bet if you interviewed 100 parents that have visited the play area, none of them could tell you what is written on the sign, most probably didn’t even recognise the sign and those that did either didn’t understand the reason for the information and others would not give a continental hoot what it means and definitely would have ignored as the aim is to allow their children to have fun, experience the equipment and learn. as your book says Risk Makes Sense.
Regards Brian