Top Gear Forever

What is going on with Health and Safety in this country and Top Gear?

So we all know that Richard “hamster” Hammond has had a bad accident trying to break a land speed record in a jet propelled car, but why should the program he works for be pulled from the air?

Top Gear is one of about five programs the BBC produces which I actually watch. If my TV license fee was calculated for the time I watch the BBC then I’d be paying pence per year not pounds, however.

Health and Safety have stepped in and apparently stated that the program glorifies speed and should be investigated along with Richard Hammond’s accident. Its a tragic thing to happen to such a nice bloke but I am sure Hammond undertook this challenge in the knowledge that if it went wrong then he could get hurt. I am also sure that he was given training on this challenge and safety was a primary concern. It was undertaken on a private airfield for gods sake, the way some people are going on about it you’d think he’d been doing it down the M25!

This country used to have a pioneering spirit with men such as Malcolm and Donald Campbell, Henry Segrave, John Cobb, Richard Noble and Andy Green to name but a few, who’s drive, ambition and relentless fearlessness of the dangers involved have driven speed records to over 760mph.

Also almost everything in modern life is driven to be faster and faster. We work with devices which allow us to accomplish tasks faster, and these devices in-turn are constantly being updated to be faster and faster. Take computers for example: I replaced a customer’s computer last week which was 2 years old because it was too slow!

So that brings us on to the car, and speed. Nearly every mainstream manufacturer’s car on the market at present can break the motorway speed limit, most by a considerable margin. Both my cars will do double the speed limit of the UK. Yet we are supposed to drive them at limits imposed which are deemed to be safe, and quite rightly so as well. I may not agree with the speed limit of 70mph on the motorway, especially after having fallen asleep at the wheel of my previous car because I was bored, but speed limits in towns need to be enforced to keep the public at large, safe.

So why are the Health and Safety brigade jumping on the band wagon to get Top Gear banned just because of Richard Hammond’s Accident? Well from what I read they say that Top Gear “Glorifies speed”. So what? It may glorify speed, but why do people watch it? By the way isn’t Tope Gear one of the BBC most watched and best selling programs? People watch Top Gear because they can’t go out and buy a £200,000 super car and tear up the streets of the UK, so they watch the program and fantasise about driving these cars. It doesn’t mean they actually go out and speed. If your town is anything like mine then you can’t because the town centre is one step away from gridlock and the country roads surrounding the town are latterly shot blasted with speed cameras.

So come on BBC have some balls and screw the people at the Health and Safety Exec and give the people what they want, Top Gear forever.

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