The herald reports today that DIY injuries are killing nearly 600 people a year in New Zealand: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10595342
That is nearly twice the road death toll, so I expect from next week to see an aggressive anti-DIY ad campaign on TV, the banning of all commercials for Mitre 10, Placemakers and Bunnings, and the introduction of a compulsory safety harness when hammering a nail into the wall.
While the tone of the article is serious and the message is clear people need to take better care when doing work, there is a humorous subtext to the article:
DIY handymen are costing hundreds of millions of dollars in medical bills by putting up wobbly scaffolds, touching live wires and shooting themselves in the hands and feet with nail guns.
The kitchen is the most dangerous room in the house in most parts of the country.
ACC will be targeting home handymen – among others – during safety week, which starts on Monday.
Lynn Theron, a doctor in Auckland City Hospital’s emergency department, said the most common household injury she had seen was people chopping their own fingers off while cooking. Burns were also another common injury in the kitchen.
Right I thought the home handyman lived in the shed down the back garden. Not the kitchen!
So the lesson of the story is it bad to stay at home cooking, doing so means you are doing DIY and that is evil. Go out and buy some take-out food tonight – it may just save your life.
