It has been commented many times that that we are becoming a more risk-averse and litigious society. A quick Google search highlights many examples where such protective behaviour of children can have a detrimental effect. Two such reports in the Times "Children in risk-averse Britain 'trust no-one'" and "Dr Tanya Byron warns digital-age children should be left to take risks" discuss the issues. There are multiple reasons for this and it is beyond my expertise to really really research and understand all the issues involved. However my work in Operational management and my (so far pleasant) experience of bringing up two children highlight several factors.
As an inter-connected society individuals end up being drawn into huge quasi-social groups which they empathise with and are affected by. An example of this occurs when there are horrific and seemingly senseless killings as has tragically occurred in Cumbria in the UK. Such events cause rightly a desire to see something done - but driven by an emotional response and not necessarily informed by any real understanding of the issues. In reality they are very rare events and even when they happen are generally hundreds of miles away but we are affected by a much larger pool.
As a society rules and laws are being created on a finer and finer-grain basis. Rather than trust people to do the "right" thing the law now micro-manages us. In my view this erodes an individual's Human Rights - ignorance is no excuse in law and yet there are far too many laws to be able to fully understand them all. Therefore our legal system is set up to fail us. Examples that spring to mind are the need in the UK to notify the "Government" when a car is off-road, or not in use. If you don't there is a fine - I bet this affects the generally law-abiding far more than the deliberate law-breakers it is intended to deal with. I have a suspicion that the system is designed this way to make it easier to implement an automated surveillance mechanism to catch the transgressors. A case closer to home is the way in which the "laws of the road" have increased in complexity with a surfeit of road signs and markings with different bodies (Police/Councils) responsible for different areas of enforcement. The result is a headline-driven system of enforcement with blitzes on "drunk drivers" or "speeding motorists" or "cyclists without lights". (In the UK we also have the added complexity of having Laws and a Code - The Highway code - which provides guidance, which if you don't follow it can be used against you if you have an accident - confusing or what!) As an added layer of complexity cyclists might get damages reduced in the event they are involved in an accident, even if they are totally blameless - if they were not wearing a helmet.
Humans have not evolved to be able to accurately evaluate probability, nor does the education system particularly help. (Mind you I am not suggesting yet another special lesson.) Why do so many people gamble and lose money? Any Gambling business is set up to make money from the punters. Yet most people believe they must be in with a chance. The chances of winning the National Lottery are easily computable - yet it attracts huge numbers of people who believe they might get lucky! Yet - we know that of the money that goes in, some is profit, some is to pay the running costs and a chunk is for good causes (administered by a Quango or two I believe). If people can't understand the risks then there is no hope of understanding cost-benefit analysis!
I also think that humans tend to focus on short-term issues rather than consider the long-term consequences. In simple terms better roads mean people end of driving further to commute to their jobs - yet we all want better and more roads. However in the longer term roads are noisy, vehicles pollute, driving is not a particularly healthy activity, more vehicles drive people of the streets (particularly the young and old). The result dormitory villages where it is necessary to drive to work, the supermarket, the post office, the chemist. At a stroke making it difficult for those that don't or can't drive.
I could go on - but what brought this chain of thought on? Well in today's Cambridge News " Cycle trainer critical of 'obsession' with helmets" . The article discusses how Cambridgeshire County Council is considering forcing employees to wear safety clothing when cycling on official council business. Personally I believe in choice and I class much of cycling as a benign activity. It is not and should not be an intrinsically dangerous activity. When I do some serious Mountain Biking I wear a helmet. When I cycled the roads of India last year I wore a helmet. When I am pootling around I expect that my Human Rights should entitle me to be safe from other road users - simples. The article quotes a Council spokesman as comparing working on the highway with cycling on the highway - they are not the same and should not be considered the same. I completely agree with the cycle trainer quoted - this 'obsession' is unhealthy and implies an abdication of the responsibility to ensure the highways are safe.
With all this helmet-induced stress it is great that the weather continues to be changeable - this time for the good. I was meeting friends for lunch a t the Six Bells in Fulbourn and it was ideal t-shirt and shorts weather - and no helmet. I did wear sunglasses though - need to prevent flies in the eyes. I also needed some new brake blocks for my Marin Hybrid. yesterday's cycle in the mud had ground the brake blocks down to nothing. So i cycled out of town towards Horningsea to Ben Hayward Cycles and got some new blocks and then carried on up to the Harcamlow Way and then across to the disused railway track past Anglesey Abbey. According to the signs it is an NT Permissive Path at that point with Horseshoe signs. So as a fully paid up member of the NT I figured that if horses are allowed then the same is probably true for cyclists.
The track is flat and not too rutted so makes for a very pleasant way into Lode as you cycle past fields of crops growing. These Oak trees appear to be succumbing to Acute Oak Disease (AOD).
The skies were blue with a few puffy clouds - way different to the day before.
As it was a sunny day I had my slightly bigger Panasonic Lumix camera with me - not that it made it easier to take better pictures of the wild flowers.
I was able to take close-ups though - this is another plant I know from my childhood - although I had forgotten the name - Common Bird's-foot-trefoil. - Lotus Corniculatus. The flowers are red in bud but then yellow - some pictures do not always show this and can confuse the reader. My Collins book shows them as yellow but mentions the red colour in the text. The Wikipedia link, on the Latin name, has a picture with the flowers showing red.
Although this looks a little like Cow parsley the florets look different - I think it is Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium).
Poppies in the field - I think that splash of red in the green makes them photogenic.
After Lode it was a short trip back through Bottisham and the Wilbrahams to Fulbourn- there is a Little and Great Wilbraham, This sign is for Great Wilbraham which has Wilburh seated in the middle and along with a sign of the Knights Templar and various agricultural representations - including wheat, barley and sugar beet.
Lunch at the Six Bells was very pleasant in Fulbourn (another link) - sitting in the sun (I had Ham, double egg and Chips) and a good pint of beer (wherry). The route out of Fulbourn towards Cherry Hinton takes a "No Through Road" (Fulbourn Old Drift) and brings you out on Yarrow Road next to Tescos. Fulbourn Old Drift is in a pretty bad state so be careful cycling along it. It is uphill going into Cherry Hinton so you have time to see the potholes. Going the other way might be more of a challenge. It was a good job I took the long way to Fulbourn via Horningsea! I think that Cherry Hinton High Street has some rather weird cycle lanes, an attempt to get people to use the by-pass (Yarrow Road and Gazelle Way). As I cycled out -- a car stopped in the Mandatory Cycle Lane (MCL) - he was on the phone - perhaps his car had broken down - but typical of the way in which MCLs are treated in Cambridge.
I could certainly get used to cycling in this weather - it is tremendous.
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