The MacDoctor is all for using protective devices, if they have been shown to be effective, but too often he sees over-reaction like this: Schools urged to insist on helmets for push-scooter riders after claims to ACC rocket 500 per cent. The number of children seriously hurt while riding push scooters has skyrocketed with their [...]

It really was a bumper day for left-wing whining today. The 90-day probation was extended to all businesses, the minimum wage went up to $13.00 ph and ACC re-introduced experience rating. All favorite left-wing bug-bears. The Herald shamelessly published a horribly slanted article on the 90-day trail with Helen Kelly in full cry, accusing National of [...]

Coroner Demands Jet Ski changes A Wellington coroner has demanded mandatory helmets, lap belts and roll bars for all Jet Skis in New Zealand, blasting the authorities for a lack of action. In his reserved findings into the death of 21-year-old Elephant Farmer, Hamish MacTavish, coroner Ian Smith said at least 3 people had died [...]

I have long come to the conclusion that the vast majority of accidents that present to emergency departments are entirely predictable. They are not “accidents” in the sense of a genuinely unforeseeable set of circumstances, but consequences of stupidity. The element of stupidity is not necessarily the victim’s, of course. Often the “accident” is not [...]

Deborah Coddington talks about how we seem to be excessively protective of our children, attempting to protect them from every hazard imaginable. I have some sympathy for her viewpoint that we are indeedoverprotective. I am dubious about her conclusion: As adults, we grit out teeth and silently wish we could strangle boy-racers, but if these [...]