Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/firework-ex...222935563.html

How many more children have to be seriously hurt before someone in the government realises that they are too dangerous to be sold without any form of licencing.

The have kept my 18month old son awake unitl 9pm most nights for the last 2 weeks. My cat is scared ****less and I know a few friends whose dogs are going to need psychotherapy when it is all over.

To top the lot, as I was out for a run the other night, I noticed some kids setting off some fireworks in the local park playground. I had to call the fuzz as someone was going to get hurt. All I got when I shouted 'What the hell are you doing?' was abuse and then a threat to aim the firework at me!

May be I am just a boring old fart (I am 30 now!) but I have never seen the appeal of fireworks.
People standing around, freezing their bits off, looking at the sky going 'OOOO ....... ARRRR' is not what I call fun.

Plus, it is always the fecking jobless layabouts that seem to have the need to arm themselves with a bloody arsenal.


Am I really turning into someone who is eligable to go on Grumpy Old Men?

Martin2005

Totally agree, ban the bloody anti-social dangerous things...or at least make them harder to get hold of

Tidgy

he should never have had it in the first place, he's 12 and you have to by 18 (or is it 16) to buy them. it also says he was playing with it in the street. Also the firework involved isnt for public sale anyway.

Who ever gave it/sold it to him has alot to answer for.

If used safely there fine.

Devildog

Totally agree

Many will scream "you're spoiling our fun" but at the end of the day these are explosives and my response is tough ****.

Licenced, organised displays only. Its the only sensible way forwards. Anyone who wants to go can.

speedking

I love fireworks. When I was a lad we had proper noisy bangers. Hours of fun blowing up Airfix model planes. Fireworks like helicopters that took off and whizzed around the garden, never be allowed these days.

Its only for a couple of months of the year, plus New Year, and everyone's birthdays. You are a grumpy young man.

The problem is not the fireworks, but how they are used, and the intelligence of the users.

Martin2005

Can these 2 statement coexist in the same post?

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

But the point is ANYONE over the legal age can buy as many fireworks as they like. Ok there may be limits at certain shops but nobody checks how responcible the purchaser is. I.E. One that would give a lethal explosive to a child.

Basically, there is no way to check this. So as Devildog says, there should be organized and licenced displays only.

Tidgy

so what does that make a car? should cars be banned more people are killed by illegal cars/drivers a year than fireworks?

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

There are penalties for people who don't have licences/tax/insurance yes?
Provisions are in place to at least attempt to make our roads safer.
How is that the same with Fireworks?

Next question.

urban

iTrader: (1)

In N.Ireland you have to apply for a license.
Doesn't seem to stop people getting hold of them illegally though, and there are not enough people enforcing the law.

DYK

It does say in the report that its not yet known how the lad got the firework.
Still i do agree somewhat with them being banned,because young teenagers etc act like idiots with them,i know some years ago was reports of lads aiming rockets at animals etc.It just seems now a days though somebody becomes hurt doing something they shouldn't be doing and the BAN word comes out,although being a kid probably wasn't aware of how dangerous the firework is..

Devildog

No, and that's a dumb argument.

Fireworks are inherantly dangerous. Cars are not.

There is zero upside to fireworks other than personal gratification.

ScoobySteve69

iTrader: (13)

They`re a ******* pain in the ****. Keep them for organised events in the middle of nowhere and keep them away from residential areas. If people want to stand around in the freezing cold staring at the sky, let them do it in a field miles from anywhere. Just another anti social activity plaguing our society. Don`t even get me started on senseless dog barking!

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

No ban will ever be 100%. Just the ban on hand guns in the UK. They still exist and people are still being killed by them. Problem is, you will never know how many lives the ban has actually saved.

Tidgy

provision is in place to stop fireworks like this getting into the general public domain, they failed, just like laws with cars, there not infallable.

So its actualy very very similar

speedking

Yes. The fireworks themselves were, what we would call these days, inherently dangerous. Yet most families used them.

Sensible precautions like standing well back, and keeping all the windows shut, meant that serious incidents were limited.

Drugs are also illegal, but seem quite commonplace. I would imagine that licensed firework purchases would inhibit sensible use while doing little to control the elements that should be clamped down on.

DYK

I think the other thing is over the years these fireworks have become more powerful and bigger,i remember being happy with a sparkler and a pack of those rockets that went weeeeeeeee up the air but you didn't get the bang....

Martin2005

Not sure kids are going to be seeking out 'dealers' so they can let off fireworks past midnight

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

So from all the kids that have had their hands and faces blown off over the years, we have nothing to learn?

Smoking a J will not kill you.
Smoking a *** is legal and we are told that it will kill you!

Fireworks that have the potential to kill, are completely legal and sold next the vegetable isle at Asda.

What a f&cked up world we live in.

Tidgy

I think the arguing point is why ban one thing and not another?

fireworks are dangers, dont think anyone disputes that. The whole point is they were being missuesd and thats what caused it.

Treat them in the proper manor and they will be fine, just like anything else.

I would allso say that some household chemicals we all have in our homes are ten times more dangerous than fireworks or cars if you know what to do with them.

billythekid

They (or someone in that area) were playing with big ones all afternoon as I could hear them out of my office window and I am about 300m from where it happened.

Its really bad round here with them, I have seen kids firing rockets at the bin men, cars, people out walking dogs, post men etc.

Leslie

All those who are whinging are indeed a bunch of grumpy old men.

We had hours of fun when I was a lad and never caused anyone any problems while we were at it.

I would hate to see this country become a boring place bound by rigid PC rules just in case we were not clever enough to take care of ourselves.

At this rate we will need to get a special certificate to be allowed to walk down the road and do a bit of shopping!

Les

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

I really do fail to understand your logic sometimes Tidgy.

Most people would not have a clue how to make an explosive out of household chemicials.
Plus, the time and effort needed to find out how to do so, would disuade many.
Stealing a car again take a bit of know how and is hardly subtle.

I child doesn't look at Kia and go 'OOO, that looks fun'. Nor does he or she have easy access drive the damn thing.

The examples you are using are just not comparable.

Fireworks can be purchased by anyone, hidden under a jacket and let off in a cinema with no warning.
For christ sake, the kids i saw playing with fireworks in the park were around 10-12 years old. If they were illegal, their parents wouldn't have picked them up from the local garage on thier way home from work and left them on the kitchen counter for their children to pinch on the way out with their chums.

Martin2005

Great - where do you live Leslie? I'll send all the firework idiots, we have around here over to yours this weekend

Tidgy

no no, not explosives, and i bet some have experienced the problem without even realizing it.

Also as far as stealing cars, there's a phrase for that called joy riding, if they want to they will find a way.

It's perfectly logical comparison, your talking about miss use not pure accidents.

So stupid parents are the fault, not those responsible enough to let them off in a safe manor. Why should people not be able to do somethign that is safe when done correctly?

Your talking about banning something because it has the potential to be deadly or cause serious harm. Thats the comparison, fireworks, cars, chemicals, etc etc

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Les, we do not live in your time anymore. Smoking was good for you back then wasn't it?

Do you think that kids these days have the same level of respect as you did as a child?
They are more willing to do stupid things to get attention, knowing full well that nothing will happen.

I am just afraid my for son. He is only 18 months old at the moment but when he is of a certain age and wants to go out and play with his friends, especially around this time of year, I am going to be a nervous wreck.

I can imagine one of them pulling a firework from their pocket and saying 'Watch this!'

If they were illegal, the unessesary risk would be removed.

IWatkins

If you ban anything that can hurt you, then the Darwin Awards each year will just get more boring

If people are stupid enough to maim/kill themselves with fireworks, then maybe that is the world's way of telling them they are dumb.

Banning fireworks is just daft. They made it illegal to sell to under 18s but the kids still have them so it didn't work did it? Outright ban? People will still have them.

hoyty

It's been said earlier in the thread but the super fireworks available to the public these days are just too powerful for the average garden display let alone being in the hands of some mindless moron last year the big thing near me was to light them and shove them under cars and run away and see what happens I'm not against garden displays but tighter controls are needed and if that can't be done then unfortunately yes a total ban . After all almost every club . Rotary or big pubs have organised events these days

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Sort of on the fence on this one.

On the one hand they are to me at best a noisy nuisance and at worst bloody lethal, but on the other aren't the accidents down to the fact they aren't handled correctly or are falling into the hands of children who legally aren't allowed to purcahse or use them?

Take this link here:

Concern over petrol used in bonfires and BBQs

Should we therefore ban petrol sales?

The fact is that if people upheld the law and followed the gudielines to the letter then most of these accidents would not happen! Parents/guardians who allow fireworks to be handled by their kids either with or without them being present, not to mention the shopkeepers who sell them to underage children need prosecuting properly and with stiff sentencing!

CharlySkunkWeed

iTrader: (7)

You cant ban something just because its dangerous. A kid could just as seriously hurt themselves that can be bought in any shop. Sparklers , matches , the list is endless. Monster Energy drinks , because a girl with heart problems drank 2 cans died , should all caffine based drinks be banned ?Its only when it effects others (firing a rocket at someone) when it gets complicated.