John MacDonald: Health and Safety is off the rails

You'll have your own way of describing this crazy situation where we’ve got KiwiRail telling the Christchurch City Council that it has to close a 1.5 kilometre stretch of cycleway for two years, because the cycleway needs some safety improvements.

KiwiRail reckons the Heathcote Express cycleway, which is near a railway crossing, is so dangerous that a death or serious injury could happen there once every 1,000 years. Yep, once every 1,000 years.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that any death or injury —no matter how infrequent— is acceptable in any way. And KiwiRail says the section of railway that the cycleway crosses is the busiest section of the South Island rail network, with about 35 trains using it each day.

The cycleway opened less than a year ago and the locals seem to love it. 

In fact, some local school kids turned up at the city council this week to tell councillors how important it is and how worried they are about this section of the cycleway being closed for two years while the safety upgrades are made to the railway crossing.

Here’s an idea of why they’re so worried about not being able to use the cycleway for two years and being forced onto a road busy with trucks going to and from the port at Lyttelton.

“We would need to bike on the highway. Port Hills Road is 60km. Lots of trucks, underpasses, and it’s scary and dodgy. It’s very dangerous crossing the Lyttleton offramp.”

And you’ve got to say, the possibility of something bad happening once every 1,000 years surely has to put it at the lower end of things. And certainly not a priority.

And this is the key thing here. I certainly don’t think it’s worth forcing cyclists off a safe cycleway for two years and onto a stretch of road that these school kids and other people who use the cycleway everyday say is a way more dangerous way for them to get to school and work.

Now I’m not saying get rid of health and safety, because that old Kiwi “she’ll be right approach” is not something I’m in favour of. 

But surely this type of crazy directive from KiwiRail shows how all the brilliant changes that have been made to keep people safer can be tarnished by another consequence of the health and safety laws.

Whether it’s an unintended consequence, who knows, but the layperson’s term for this consequence is “backside covering”.

That's all KiwiRail is doing here, because it knows that, whenever this once in 1,000 years death or injury might happen, it will be in the firing line. That’s the only conclusion you can come to.

But that’s what health and safety has become. Backside covering.

The other thing about this too is the safety upgrade being forced by KiwiRail is going to cost ratepayers $6.5 million.

I remember the last time I was in a managerial job, and I had to make my team go to a health and safety briefing. And the so-called expert started banging on about a “cable strategy”.

And I couldn’t help myself - because the old BS detector was going off left, right and centre. So I put my hand up and asked what this “cable strategy” was that they were going on about.

Turns out it was a documented plan on how to handle things like computer cables and other cords, so that they didn’t create a risk of people falling over.

That was the point when I realised that health and safety was becoming an industry.

And that’s how I’m feeling about KiwiRail’s plan to force the Christchurch City Council this 1.5 kilometre section of the Heathcote Express cycleway for two years.

It's also another example of how health and safety is out of control in this country.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Here we go, prepare for it, Here we go. I'm
going to dig date this morning. Pay see gone mad,
go woke, go broke. I'm digging Deeparto Nutbar, that old
personal favorite. You might have another way of describing the
situation where we've got Keywi Rail telling the christi At

(00:37):
City Council that it has to close a one point
five kilomet a stretch of cycleway for two years. Why
because there's a railway crossing on the cycle way that
needs some safety improvements. A railway crossing or a section
of cycleway that keyw Rail reckons is so dangerous that

(00:58):
a death or a serious injury could happen there. Get
this once every one thousand years. Yep, once every one
thousand years. You heard it right.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that any death
or injury, you know, no matter how infrequent, I'm not
saying that that is acceptable in any way. And the
section of railway that the cycleway crosses is the busiest
section of the South Island rail network, with about thirty
five trains using it each day, So it's busy or right.
This is the if you're wondering what what's the cycle way?

(01:33):
It's the Heathcote Express cycle Way, opened less than a
year ago and the locals seem to love it. In fact,
some local school kids turned up at the city council
this week to tell councilors how important it is and
how worried they are about the section of the cycleway
being closed for two years while the safety upgrades are done.

(01:55):
Here's an idea of why they're so worried about not
being able to use it for two years.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
We would need to bike on the highway. Port Hills
Road is sixty kilometers, lots of trucks underpass in its
scary and dodge it's very dangerous crossing the Littleton off ram.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Who's going to argue with that? And you've got to
say the possibility of something bad happening once every one
thousand years surely has to put it at the lower
end of things. Certainly not a priority. And this is
the key thing here. I certainly don't think it's worth
forcing cyclists off a safe cycle way for two years

(02:32):
and onto a stretch of road that these school kids
and other people who use the cycle way every day, say,
is a way more dangerous way for them to get
to school and to work or wherever they're going. Now,
I'm not saying I must saying get rid of help
in safety because that old you know, we shall be
right attitude. It's not something I'm in favor of. But

(02:52):
surely this type of crazy director from Kiwi Rail shows
how all the brilliant changes that have actually been made
to keep people safer, it just shows how they can
be tarnished by another consequence of the health and safety.
Whether it's an unintended consequence, I don't know either way.
The layperson's term for this consequence is backside covering. There's

(03:16):
another way of describing it, but you get what I mean.
All Kiwi Rail's doing here is covering its backside because
it knows that whenever this once in one thousand years
death or injury might happen, it will be in the
firing line. That's the only conclusion you can come to. Otherwise,
why would I be getting all excited about something that
it says is actually pretty unlikely to happen once in

(03:40):
a thousand years. But that's what health and safety has become.
Backside covering. Another thing too, is this upgrade being forced
by Kiwi Rail is going to cost right past six
and a half million bucks. That's another story. Now. I
remember the last time I was in a managerial role
and I had to take my team to a health
and safety briefing and the so called expert they started

(04:05):
banging on about a cable strategy, and you know me,
I couldn't help myself because the old BS detector it
was going nuts. So U put my hand, I said,
what's this cable strategy you're talking about? Turns out it
was a documented plan on how to handle things like

(04:25):
computer cables and other cords so that you know, people
didn't fall over them. And that was the point. That
was the point when I realized that health and safety
has become an industry and if we needed a plan
on paper on what to do with laptop cables, then,
as I said at the start piece, he gone mad,
go go, won't go breaken up, but all rolled into

(04:47):
one gloriously. And that's how I'm feeling about key We
Rail's planned force the city Council to close one and
a half kilometers of the heath Get Express psych away
for two years so safety improvements can be made to
deal with the risk of death or serious injury once
every one years, and at the same time forcing cyclists

(05:10):
onto a road that is way more dangerous. That's how
I feel about it. It is nuts and it's why
I think health and safety is out of control in
this country.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
For more from Caterbory Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks at be Christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.