Gordon said:Justin C <[email hidden]> writes
Quoted message said:
Seatbelts were in cars long before they were compulsory.
They were uncomfortable, inconvenient, inadequately anchored, and not
very effective until legislation and standards were introduced.
Market forces (dictated by an educated populace) should have driven that
forward. The comfort and efficienct of a seat-belt is certainly no good
enough reason for any loss of liberty. [1]
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:Motor-cycle
helmets were available long before they were compulsory.
I know, I had one, and they were very basic, as the bikers in out RAF
hut found out when we tried some physical tests on each other. Ouch!
Again, as they became compulsory, with a larger market, more money was
spent on developing them to give better protection, and to look less
silly.
As above.
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:Speed limiting
devices are available for motor-cars, how long before they are
compulsory?
Never, I expect, because common sense says that they would make
overtaking slower and more dangerous.
Overtaking? You think that will be allowed? And what, pray, is a Gatso
if it isn't a speed limiting device?
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:How long before free-climbing is thought too dangerous and
is out-lawed? After that, how long before hill-walking is banned? Ooh,
yes, go and look at those wonderful peaks, just do it from the valleys.
Wonderful piece of extrapolation, but nonsense.
Wonderful? Thank you! Nonsense? Well, time will tell.
Could your opinion be coloured by the fact that you are appreciative of
the benefits brought by legislation, and the freedom you have lost you
didn't consider of much worth anyway?
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" -
Sir Isaac Newton. How are we going to see further if so many risks are
no longer permitted that we can no longer stand on the shoulders of
giants? "I'm sorry, sub-division of atomic particles is illegal, you may
set off a chain reaction that ends the world"
Now there's a stretch too far, from wearing seat belts to standing on
the shoulders of giants!
Please try to keep up, current affairs aren't difficult to follow.
Stem-cell research, embryology - messing around with the aborted unborn.
IIRC at one time banned and now allowed under strict license.
Experiments in cloning - you've done it once, don't do it again. How
will we ever see further if we can't even see as far as we've already
been?
Justin.
[1] I am certain that the demands of the public for "better" or "safer"
or "more comfortable" would be a long way down the list of improvements
the manufacturers would impliment and, consequently, we would not have
the advances in this area that we have seen in the last forty years.
However, what price is freedom?
--
Justin C, by the sea.
