RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

May 16 , 2006
“SENSIBLE SAFETY” – THE VIEW FROM THE TOP

RoSPA’s Acting Chief Executive Errol Taylor got to grips with the “sensible safety” debate by testing his nerve on a climbing wall at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The wall was one of the attractions on the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents stand at Safety & Health Expo 2006 (May 9-11).

“People may have been surprised to find a seven-metre climbing wall on our stand,” he said. “But we wanted to demonstrate that RoSPA is fully behind the philosophy that life is for living and having fun.

“Unless risks are quite intolerable, health and safety professionals should not ban activities, but enable individuals and organisations to manage risks safely. That means promoting understanding about risk assessment, appropriate training and the use of safety gear where necessary.

“We believe safety skills learned in the workplace can be easily transferred to a leisure or home environment, helping people to be confident and enjoy themselves. For instance, driver training undertaken for work will also keep people safer on the road at other times.

“Certainly we hope those visitors who made it to the top of our climbing wall not only saw the NEC from a new perspective, but also agreed with our view that risks should be managed, not avoided.”