This one comes from Australia and concerns singer John williamson
Indeed one of my rugby coaches had a ute and half the team, or so it seemed, used to ride in the back to and from games. It was legal back then, nobody gave it a second thought.
I appreciate what with seat belt laws and all it is no longer allowed but in this case the law was ignored for the parade but not for the 500 meters or so the occupants had to travel back to their hotel. And that seems an absurdity.
Of course the real world is not risk free, no matter how many laws you enact people will still come to grief, its part of the deal called living.
Just how much cotton wool our rulers should wrap us in should be a subject for debate.
Riding on the back of a ute is a no no but free fall parachuting isn't, nor is mountaineering, playing polo or any number of hazardous activities I can think of.
My boy Nik used to give me the willies with his skateboard, come to think of it. But a boy has to spread his wings - no? Anyway he has moved on from it and apart from bruises and scrapes survived it as most of us do survive our impetuous youth.
No matter how you look at it, riding on the back of a ute after a parade seems at the very low end of risky activity and fining the driver $250 smackeroos seems a tad of an over reaction to me - and overly officious.
Williamson, in Tamworth for the annual country music festival, raised the ire of police on Saturday morning for remaining in the back of his ute unrestrained after a cavalcade along the main street of the town.Riding in the back of a Ute never used to trouble anyone, been there, done that many times and I'm still here. I haven't come through life unscathed, had a near thing or two in my time but that particular activity, riding on the back of a Ute never came close to nailing me.
Alongside him was a friend, who was also unrestrained.
The driver of the ute, believed to be Williamson's partner Meg Doyle, copped a $250 fine and received three demerit points.
Indeed one of my rugby coaches had a ute and half the team, or so it seemed, used to ride in the back to and from games. It was legal back then, nobody gave it a second thought.
I appreciate what with seat belt laws and all it is no longer allowed but in this case the law was ignored for the parade but not for the 500 meters or so the occupants had to travel back to their hotel. And that seems an absurdity.
Of course the real world is not risk free, no matter how many laws you enact people will still come to grief, its part of the deal called living.
Just how much cotton wool our rulers should wrap us in should be a subject for debate.
Riding on the back of a ute is a no no but free fall parachuting isn't, nor is mountaineering, playing polo or any number of hazardous activities I can think of.
My boy Nik used to give me the willies with his skateboard, come to think of it. But a boy has to spread his wings - no? Anyway he has moved on from it and apart from bruises and scrapes survived it as most of us do survive our impetuous youth.
No matter how you look at it, riding on the back of a ute after a parade seems at the very low end of risky activity and fining the driver $250 smackeroos seems a tad of an over reaction to me - and overly officious.
"Of course the real world is not risk free, no matter how many laws you enact people will still come to grief, its part of the deal called living."
ReplyDeleteExactly--and that ought to be tattooed on the forehead of every safety zealot out there.
It's all about blame-avoidance - just inc case something had happened and someone had been hurt and someone else had said, why didn't someone do something.
ReplyDeleteSigh.