In the period 2006 to 2009 eight children died in swimming pool accidents in New South Wales. Now there are plans to add a new crime to the statute books.
It is suggested that those supervising children who drown be legally responsible for the death on the same basis as a car driver who runs over and kills somebody - in which case that person may face a court accused of " negligent driving causing death ".
The problem with passing new laws is that they often have unintended consequences.
For instance, who is responsible if a mother leaves a young child to be supervised by a teenager ?
Teenagers are notorious for having short attention spans, but it would also be quite reasonable for them to be allocated to pool duty.
Surely the existing legal system can reasonably prosecute a person who - by sheer gross negligence - leaves a small child unattended by a pool and that action leads to a death !
No comments:
Post a Comment