My brother takes risks. He drove a car without insurance last month. He was stopped by the police and the car was seized and towed off to a police pound. He had to buy some cheap (?) impounded car insurance from this UK website. Risk is a part of life and the human element is a major factor.
Regulating risk
The way that UK Health and Safety law is applied, has been the subject of much controversy over the past decade. It was felt that health and safety advice was being inappropriately applied, by over zealous health and safety practitioners.
Drop in public respect for Health and safety regulations
As a consequence of this, health and safety itself began to acquire a reputation as a bureaucratic, and oppressive body of law that stopped people carrying out legitimate activities. Examples such as village fetes being cancelled on health and safety grounds, gave rise to a certain contempt for “elfen safety” as the popular press dubbed it.
How short term car insurance saved me a fortune
It was a few months ago when I finally decided that I needed a new car. My old car had served me well for many years, but it finally failed it's MOT and it simply wasn't worth repairing. I began doing some research on the different makes and models that I was interested in and quickly realized that I couldn't afford the payments on a new car. I was disappointed and began to feel like I would have to settle for an older used car.
Plus there was a major problem. I was waiting for an offer of a job on an oil rig; it meant plenty of money but I would be away from home for at least 6 months. Why did I need a car which would be sat on my drive, for months? And why should I buy a very expensive 12 months car insurance policy, when I might only be driving in the UK for a few weeks? Particularly since my brother, who was working in Saudi Arabia, was happy to lend me his car!
That's when I remembered that I had recently seen an ad for a company that offered short term car insurance, which covered drivers for cars belonging to other people. The policies were fully comprehensive too, so the car itself would be covered if I had an accident. I decided to look into it further and discovered that it was actually quite affordable. I decided to take out a policy for a month and see how it went.
I'm glad that I did because it turns out that the short term car insurance policy was a lifesaver. It allowed me to borrow my brother's car and drive it perfectly legally. The policy was also very flexible. I initially took out a one month policy, then after a couple of weeks I got that job offer, with a request that I started six weeks later. No problem, once the initial policy expired I was able to buy another one right away. Plus, with no regular insurance payments to make, I was better able to save for the car I really wanted.
I would recommend short term car insurance to anyone who is looking for a new car but doesn't have the budget for it. It's a great way to get the car that you want without having to worry about making payments each month; particularly if you don't drive very often, or have access to cheap and reliable public transport.
As a result of public disquiet about the growth of a “compensation culture” and complaints from businesses, in 2010, the Coalition government asked Professor Ragnar Lofstedt, the Director of the King’s Centre for Risk Management, to report on possible reforms. The recommendations in his report were fully accepted by the government.
Substantial reforms to the regulations
The government decided to halve the number of health and safety regulations, reduce the amount of form-filling required of businesses, and act against some of the worst excesses. So the 72 pages of health and safety guidance for school trips for example, were reduced to eight. Members of the public were assured they wouldn’t fall foul of health and safety legislation if they cleared snow from outside their house and someone subsequently fell over. Voluntary organisations, village and community halls were given simplified checklists to use.
Risk used as the yardstick
There were also steps to improve the quality of health and safety advisers by setting up a register of qualified consultants. A challenge board was established to allow businesses to question advice from health and safety inspectors if it was felt to be disproportionate to the risk.
Major change to construction regulations in 2015
The overarching law that regulates health and safety is still the Health and Safety at Work Act, passed in 1974. However, the government reviews health and safety regulations regularly and there are therefore a number of changes since the reforms were implemented.
In 2015, a major legislative change in the form of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations came in. These are known as the CDM regs.
These set out specific roles and responsibilities for clients, contractors and workers involved in construction projects and replace the former role of CDM Co-ordinator on a project, with the role of Principal Designer.
Sentencing for health and safety offences changes
In October 2016, sentencing changed significantly. Levels of harm and the turnover of the offender are now assessed, and this may result in much larger fines for corporations found guilty of offences.
Looking ahead
The “health” aspect of the Health and Safety Executive’s work has often taken a back seat, but the HSE is becoming far more focused on this. With older workers at work due to pension changes, health is clearly going to be a major concern for employers.