Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
The whole idea that just because we aren't safe all the time means we can't add safety measures to certain actions some of the time makes no sense.
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The 'whole idea' is that our notions of Safe and Unsafe are binary, and largely unsupported by empirical data. The safety of children is regarded as a kind of sacred value, so people don't want to recognize that it's situational, and subject to a sliding scale of risk and convenience. Putting kids in helmets for car rides would unquestionably make them safer. The only reason not to is convenience and comfort. There is no clear, hard line between putting kids in helmets when tobogganing and putting them in helmets for trips in the car. Most people don't want to think too much about this stuff, so they rely on social norms to guide their behaviour. But social norms are a terrible guide to risk assessment (see
nobody lets their kids play outside anymore because of stranger danger).