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Like many of us at this time of year thoughts turn to summer holidays and being no exception I was discussing possible destinations with a pal of mine over a beer last week. The fear of flying means he limits his options to land and sea passages. I have finally chosen Greece for this seasons sojourn in the sun and, having no qualms about air travel, I am taking the direct route that will transport me from my kitchen to a Greek Taverna in 8 hours or so.
Of course it is quite possible to reach Greece and its islands without ever resorting to the skies. Any combination of car, train and boat with get you there eventually. My friend prefers the independence of his car and was musing that he could maybe make the 2000 mile plus road trip in 4 days or so with two drivers and a couple of 5 gallon cans of petrol in reserve to limit pit stops. The problem here is that driving on the Continent is not that straightforward and many UK drivers regrettably display scant knowledge of UK transport laws never mind those of our European neighbors.
In the UK storage of fuel (unless specifically licensed) is restricted by law to either metal containers with a maximum capacity of 2 x 10 litres or approved plastic containers of a maximum 2 x 5 litres capacity.
In Greece the rules are simpler as carrying spare fuel in a car is forbidden by law. Most Car Ferry operators also frown on spare fuel cans – if they take the trouble to check.
Holiday makers driving through France should also be aware that they are required by law to carry at least one and preferably two hazard warning triangles (highly recommended in Spain) and a hi-vis reflective jacket at all times. This is also the case in Austria and Croatia if you take the scenic route to Greece. Interestingly in Switzerland the hazard triangle should be kept in the cab not the boot. It is also compulsory throughout Europe to carry your original vehicle registration document, proof of insurance and to decorate your car with a GB sticker unless you already have it on your registration plates.
Equipping your car with a fire extinguisher and first aid kit is not compulsory but is “recommended” in Belgium, Germany and the Scandinavian block.
On the spot fines are common in Europe and vary up to 150 Euro so it’s investing in the right safety gear.
For anyone considering a Greek odyssey by land I would recommend driving (or my preference taking the train) down to Venice and picking up the ferry to Patra and hire a car there. Drive further down Italy’s boot to Bari for a shorter Ferry trip. There is also a ferry that drops you off in Kefalonia but that may be from Brindisi – you will have to check as I always fly these days!!
Tony
The news this week has been dominated by the “fallout” from the volcanic eruption in Iceland, pushing the General Election jamboree into second place. At least one silver lining perhaps. We live close to an airport so the lack of engine roar and vapour trails in the sky has been noticeable and welcome for us but not I guess for the thousands trapped abroad on sun drenched beaches.
The inquest will now no doubt begin into whether the risk was overstated. Surely that is the thing about risk assessment. If you are at 30000 feet in a glorified cigar case then any clear and present danger should be taken seriously until proved otherwise. To fall from that height is akin to dropping raw eggs off a cliff. None survive.
Despite a withering Northerly wind the sun was shining yesterday so we stepped out for an amble along the river bank to give us and the old dog a bit of exercise. Half way through the walk, high in the sky we saw the tell tale vapour trail of a jetliner so even before the Evening News confirmed it could be surmised the sky’s over the UK were once again open for business.
More encouraging for those not able to head for warmer climes we also spotted the first Swallows of summer skimming low over the sink pools in the flood basin. Those that know birds will be encouraged that, not before time, warmer southerly winds cannot be far away. Swallows ride these winds on their annual migration up from Africa and even for savvy Hirundininae the risk of getting that judgement wrong are fatal.
The arrival of warmer weather will also trigger the annual scramble to dust down the sun loungers, bring the barbeque out of hibernation and stock the fridge with sausages and canned beer. Cars are loaded up with all but the kitchen sink for alfresco family picnics and thermal vests discarded in favour of fuller exposure to the warming Sun.
A risk assessment of these activities often comes low in our priorities but statistically the arrival of summer presages an increase in domestic fire related accidents and injuries.
I have given advice before on how to mitigate these risks but the basics are or should be obvious. Be prepared for the unexpected. Invest in a small powder fire extinguisher to smother an errant barbeque or picnic fire, keep the kids away from both and make sure the flames are out before you leave the scene. Like the Swallow risk preparedness and avoidance is a skill worth learning when lives may depend on it.
Tony
With the general election looming there is a lot of political hot air flying around about the billions to be saved from stemming government waste and delivering efficiency savings within the State Apparatus. A report last week by a Commons Select Committee shows how difficult this will be.
It was some time ago that this Government announced its plans to “modernize” the Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) which included FiReContol – the creation of nine super regional control (read call) centre’s to replace the 49 local centre’s. The FRS network was generally opposed and highly suspicious that the real motive was manpower reduction not service improvement.
The report published appropriately on April Fool’s day by the Communities and Local Government Committee of MP’s damned the project as “inadequately planned, poorly executed and badly managed leaving it in a precarious position”. The IT element is in its usual mess and the report concludes that there is currently no agreed project plan with the principle outside contractors. This is truly unbelievable incompetence that would be unacceptable in any other organization.
The financial figures are dire. The original project costs have risen from a projected £120 million in 2004 to £460million today whilst the projected FRS efficiency saving have plummeted from 28% of running costs per annum to just 9% down from £28 million to £6million /annum in cash terms and falling. Overall the project that was intended to save the taxpayer £86million is now projected to end in negative territory to the tune of £240 million.
The CLG argued that not all the money has been wasted. They had built 9 bright new shiny Control Centres and 3 even had furniture and IT equipment. Of course they are nowhere near operational and the project is already 2 years behind schedule.
Given the amount of our cash already spent the Committee conceded it is arguably too late to cancel the project but warned that unless the CLG department can secure “urgent agreement on a viable project plan in which the main stakeholders can have confidence”, cancellation was not ruled out.
And therein is the rub. For now at least there is no legal compulsion for the main stakeholders, the local Fire and Rescue Services, to integrate their services into the FiReControl project. As most were against the idea in the first place I can’t see them rushing to opt in if and when it finally gets operational.
Responding to the report, fire minister Shahid Malik – yes we have a minister for fire – said: “I believe the project is in a better position than ever before” from which we can only conclude it had been a whole lot worse if that were possible!!
Meanwhile the professionals in our local FRS’s continue to make significant strides to reduce accidental house fires. My own town registered a 25% reduction in 2009 over 2008 with fire injuries down 90% since 2006 thanks to community safety initiatives like free home checks, education in schools and free smoke alarms. Letting the experts do their job and encouraging them to look for efficiency savings that do not reduce fire safety will save the economy far more than the FiReControl project ever will.
Tony
I have spent some time of late looking at UK Legislation relating to the storage of hazardous goods so that we can better inform our customers on the new range of Safety Storage Cabinets and Security Chests recently added to our portfolio.
In doing so I chanced upon an illuminating website www.statutelaw.gov.uk that lists all the Primary Statutes of Law enacted in the UK over the years and a good many Secondary Statutory Instruments (sub Laws I guess) that also apply to the immensely tolerant People of these Islands. The list includes our Business Law of the moment – the daunting Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Although I thought we had the Fire Safety legislation pretty well covered in fact there are 144 pieces of fire safety legislation in the list so maybe we will have to revisit this.
In all there are 5571 Statute Laws dating back to the Statute of Marlborough in 1267, although King Johns signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 effectively set the earliest seeds for a modern day Westminster.
What astonished me was that over 1000 of these Statutes of the Realm have been enacted since 1997 – that’s the year of our lord Tony Blair by the way. Put in context that’s 20% of all Laws passed in 13 of the 700 odd Years since Parliament was effectively created under King Henry III (give or take the odd Dissolution). Add to this 500 plus Statutory Instruments since 2005 alone and I doubt we can fault our disgraced Parliament for effort.
Some of these Laws make you wonder just how over regulated we are. There is seemingly a Law for doing most everything apart from breathing.
We have little gems like “The Parking Attendants (Wearing of Uniforms Act) South Lanarkshire 2005″ and “The Potatoes Originating in Egypt (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2005″. I bet you also didn’t know there is a law that states that it is illegal to offer a fully assembled bicycle for sale without a bell “which is of a category intended for use on bicycles”. There is of course a separate law for unassembled bicycles and why not!
Maybe our legislators should refresh their memory of the Statute of Marlborough which in short put the following into the Law of the Land some of which sounds is eerily resonant of today’s troubled times.
“It was Provided and established and with full consent ordained, That whereas the Realm of England having been of late depressed by manifold Troubles and the evils of Dissensions, (it is) in need of a Reformation of the Laws and Usages, whereby the Peace and Tranquility of the People both high (bred) and low may be preserved …….forever.”
Like a good deal of the freedoms and human rights provided in the Magna Carta, Marlborough’s Law no doubt has been repealed since.
Tony
A so called “secret” database held by the grandly named “Higher Education Funding Council for England” was published in the Guardian newspaper this Monday. It revealed that scores of University halls of residence and other buildings including lecture theatres, were classified as “at serious risk of major failure or breakdown” and “unfit for purpose”. In the most severe cases, buildings were deemed totally inoperable because they contravene fire regulations.
The right to publish the database has been the subject of a two-year legal tussle by the newspaper, which ended when a freedom of information tribunal ruled that it was in the public interest to release the data. It shows that more than 90% of higher education institutions had at least 10% of their buildings classified as below the level deemed “sound and operationally safe”. Some Universities had more than 40% of buildings classed as inoperable.
How the Hefce, a government funded Quango, could be granted a legal platform to argue that information on the safety of our university students was not an issue of public interest seems unbelievable. Of course the delaying tactic meant that these buildings could remain “operable” in the interim, and also meant that now the Universities can claim the data to be out of date. They duly responded to the forced publication by saying they have invested millions of pounds in their buildings since the assessments were made two years ago. So I suppose the fifty grand of tax payer cash spent in legal cost by the Hefce to stop publication was not just a cynical ploy by its paymasters to kick the issue into the long grass?
What is farcical is that we will probably never get to know the extent of remedial action taken. The length of time it takes between commissioning an “official” investigation and publishing its findings will always provide scope to claim “major improvements” have been made since collecting the data. Round and round it goes.
As the revelations come just a week after the government announced that university grants for capital projects, such as new buildings, would be cut by 14.9% in cash terms to £562m in 2010-11, it is hard to see Vice-chancellors having the funds for new building and fire safety improvements any time soon even with the low cost of fire safety equipment.
One possible solution presents itself. Why don’t the law enforcers treat education in the same way they treat businesses and send in the fire inspectors to check for breaches of the Regulatory Reform (fire safety) Order? The secret database indicates the sector should be a happy hunting ground for fire safety breeches and the fines raised from subsequent prosecutions can be redirected to upgrades. In the process it will also make our kids a good deal safer in their places of learning.
When it comes to ethical priorities the much vaunted political mantra “Education, Education, Education”, should surely be preceded by “Safety, Safety, Safety”! The funding should be provided to Universities and Schools to ensure this.
To view the full Secret data click here
Tony
