| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Brownbear |
The Unquiet Spirit of Esther Rantzen strikes againhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2152671/Grieving-father-attacks-canoe-hire-business.htmlVery sad about his little girl, but what really is the story here? A man and his wife, with little experience of canoeing, decide to take their children out on the river at a time when the waters are high. They hire a canoe and set out, get lost and come to grief. Apparently, it's not the fault of either parent, but of the company from which they hired the canoe, or perhaps the government for not stopping the parents hiring the vessel. Perhaps the hire firm made the fateful error of assuming that the hirers were responsible adults, who had taken the time to actually learn how to handle the vessel before hiring it. No doubt canoe hire will soon be regulated to death, people making an honest living will be put out of business, and the next idiot who wants to endanger the lives of his family will have to go to a shop and buy a canoe before coming to grief. Then the headline will be Grieving Father calls for regulation of Canoe Sales Industry. |
| vegplot |
While I have every sympathy for the father and the loss of his daughter it was his responsibility to make the decision whether to go out or not based on his experience and those of his children. If he felt they didn't have enough training on how to deal with emergencies then why did he go out? He's simply shiftinh his responsibility has a parent and guardian onto a third party.
This was, afterall, a hire business not a supervised outdoor pursuit activity. Edit: "The inquest heard that canoe hire is largely unregulated with those hiring out equipment apparently under no duty of care to provide anything other than defect-free equipment. Derek Price and Wayne Shepherd, who set up Hay Canoes, offered no guidance, supervision or training for the equipment they hired out" This is the norm of all hire businesses. You are expected to be able handle the tools you hire. |
| random |
it's a tragic situation I agree, but there is a huge element of personal responsibilty, would you hire a for example a chainsaw if you can't use it... why is it always someone elses fault |