ACC - Should wearing safety gear be a legal requirement?

[The Stranger:Me]

Are you referring to every one of the following:
Skydiving
Bungy Jumping
Rugby
Motor Racing
Motorcycle riding
Fishing
Skateboarding
Mountain Biking

Fishing? Extreme fishing perhaps.
Can you really lump fising in with that lot?

[The Stranger:Me]

Ahh but they don't have seperate ACC levies targeting them like road bikes do.

Wouldn't it be simpler to do away with the motorcycle classification then?
I know what, we could call it a "no blame" system - instead of the present "no blame except motorcycle" system we currently have.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Fishing? Extreme fishing perhaps.
Can you really lump fising in with that lot?

There have been a few that have been washed of the rocks, I know i some one that got a fish hook in his eye standing a bit close behind some one casting... 8 year slipped and on the wharf and falls into drink knocking his head on the way... should I continue or is that enough examples

Boaties doing the recreational fishing only pay acc via fuel.

[AlpinePossum]

Negative. The average cost of someone dying is far greater than someone being seriously injured.
A lot of those who die don't just die. They use some incredibly expensive resources and then die.

Don't blame the bikeys for that. Blame the docs.

Message to all Docs. If you're going to go to desperate measures to save my life... which if you perhaps succeed is going to leave me brain damaged and crippled, do me a BIG favour... dose me Good with painkillers and go to the pub and have a drink in my memory instead.

Thanks.

[MarkH]

Fishing? Extreme fishing perhaps.
Can you really lump fising in with that lot?

No, standard fishing. Clearly you are not familiar with the fatality rate associated with fishing - hint: boats, water, open sea, etc.

In terms of fatalities fishing is one of the most dangerous sports in NZ.

In the US of A Cheerleading is near the top of the list of dangerous sports, both for deaths & for injuries.

Better not forget horse riding - another sport with a high injury rate (it put superman in a wheel chair).

[The Stranger:Me]

should I continue or is that enough examples

No that's not enough, please continue, I'm really not convinced still.
The point is not that anyone has died or been injured, people have died eating a ham sandwich after all, my point was the cost to ACC - the topic of this thread - or are you suggesting we should ban ham sandwiches too?

[MarkH]

Ahh but they don't have seperate ACC levies targeting them like road bikes do.

So we all pay for the injuries in those dangerous activities then and the participants aren't paying a decent share of the costs. At least us motorcyclists pay a nice big chunk of ACC levy each year to put towards the cost of the payouts. What to horse riders pay?

I think that it just makes a lot of sense to ban some of the worst high-risk activities that cost a lot of money each year in ACC payouts. I suggest we start with Rugby then move on to horse riding and then carry on from there. I sure that no one would have any great objection to this idea.

[MarkH]

If we banned fishing then we should also ban swimming & surfing - plenty die each year from those activities too.

Hmmm, the list of stuff to ban might get a bit long. Here's a better idea - why doesn't the government make up a list of approved activities, if what you want to do isn't on the list then you aren't allowed to do it. I am sure everyone will realise that this is fair & reasonable, after all the government is just looking after our safety!

[avgas]

Ban breathing.
More people die doing that every year than anything else on the planet.

[slofox]

"Life is a sexually transmitted disease curable only by death.."

It all gets to the point where nobody is allowed to do anything because it might kill or injure them...the only reason things like the cancer rate are increasing is because there is nothing much else that kills people any more - antibiotics et al...same for "accidental death". I would never have lived long enough to learn motorbiking without the intervention of modern medical science. So now I can die by accidental death instead of peritonitis, some 50 odd years later.

The death rate will always be 1.0.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Ban breathing.
More people die doing that every year than anything else on the planet.

Don't forget eating, death via chocking and eating healthy food

oh and sleep death by not waking up

[davereid]

If ACC is expected to pick up the tab for medical bills after a bin, then they should be able to stipulate some conditions of their cover (like every other insurance policy).

Wearing speedos and a smile won't be enough.

Of course. Except for the fact that ACC is compulsory. I cant choose another insurer with rules that meet my needs.

On the bright side, even if I don't pay my ACC, I'm stoned, speeding, on the worng side of the road, and I crash into a bus full of safety experts I'll get my payout.

How cool is that ? Full cover, even if I don't pay the bill, and I ignore all the conditions in the policy !

[Usarka]

or are you suggesting we should ban ham sandwiches too?

banned in israel.......

even if I don't pay my ACC, I'm stoned, speeding, on the worng side of the road, and I crash into a bus full of safety experts I'll get my payout.

Not if it just results in a head injury, then you've got years of shitfighting on your hands!

[The Stranger:Me]

If we banned fishing then we should also ban swimming & surfing - plenty die each year from those activities too.

I should know better than to pose an obviously rhetorical question on KB, there will always be one who will answer it.

[MarkH]

I should know better than to pose an obviously rhetorical question on KB, there will always be one who will answer it.

Ummm, that post of mine you quoted - that wasn't an answer to anyone's question. I had mentioned fishing in a previous post and what you quoted was a follow on from that where I was adding swimming & surfing to the list of stuff to ban.

Back to the topic:
Really the point I have been trying to make is that shit loads of stuff is dangerous (including daily activities like crossing the road) and that trying to legislate every last detail of NZers lives just isn't going to work. I don't need my riding gear regulated - I'll wear what I think is sensible and I'll accept that it will never be enough in a bad accident. Life is risk, deal with it!