Wednesday, Oct 14, 2015 at 11:48
I reckon there's a pretty simple equation that suits the scenario.
The amount of trouble you get into, is directly related to how
well-prepared you are, and how much forethought you have put into your moves.
Now, I know we are all guilty of occasional lapses of judgement and occasional errors in planning - and once in hundred thousand times, events combine and conspire to work against you.
But a little forethought, some care in operation, and discipline, can reduce the chances of those unforeseen events making your life very difficult.
I have known numerous people who have been caught out by unforeseen events that either resulted in a miraculous escape from death, resulted in injury, or resulted in death.
The injury and death ones were almost without fail, the result of carelessness, a casual attitude to potential dangers, or just plain risk-taking behaviour.
I knew an old farmer who lived alone and who owned a big old Dodge ute with a beam front axle.
He was driving around a back paddock and he got a flat in one front tyre.
He pulled out the jack, jacked it up, removed the wheel and then found he couldn't fit the spare because the axle wasn't high enough.
He'd run out of lift in the jack, so he had to do something to re-position the jack to get more lift.
He found a very large stone and rolled it under the axle beam with the intention to lower the axle onto the stone, so he could "get another bite" with the jack.
However - as he rolled the stone under the axle beam, the jack slipped, pinning his hand between the axle and the stone.
So ... here he was, trapped in an isolated paddock .. with no communication ability, no-one checking on him regularly, apart from neighbours that would perhaps come looking for him when they hadn't seen him for days ... and with the only assistance being the things he could reach from his trapped position.
He was a tough and resourceful old coot, though. He managed to reach the wheelbrace with his foot and he kicked it towards him.
He used the wheelbrace to chip away at
the rock with his free hand, until he could free his trapped hand. It took him 2 days.
Despite his mangled hand, he managed to finish changing the wheel and then drove himself to hospital.
He was
well over 70 when he did this, but he survived with no major disability.
The simple fact remains, he got careless.
He placed his hand in a position where it could be trapped, without realising it, or understanding the likely death potential of becoming trapped.
I have numerous other stories of blokes becoming trapped when they got careless, but I won't relate them here. Some were fatal and horrible deaths.
The Australian bush, the seas, and mechanised equipment all hold the ability to kill any of us, very very quickly - unless we make ourselves fully aware of the hidden dangers, and take prudent steps to minimise our risk of being caught by those dangers, to very low levels.
Essentially, this is what all OH&S revolves around.
Cheers,
Ron.
AnswerID:
591594