In thrall to safety
From Mr Mark Carden Sir: Modern state-sponsored fearfulness does not result just in absurd over-reaction to real problems (Leading article, 3 May), but also in the imposition of nonsensical prohibitions 'just in case'. This is well illustrated by the increasingly hysterical bans on the use of electronic equipment on aeroplanes.
The ban on in-flight use of mobile telephones is said to be justified by weak anecdotal evidence and the occasional laboratory anomaly, with the US Federal Aviation Authority happy to state, 'We ban them because no one has proven they are safe to use.' Even devices without radio transmitters are being targeted; on a recent flight aboard an Iberia Airbus, I was told that the use of my tiny handheld computer 'could' cause the aircraft's complete hydraulic system to fail, killing us all.
If there is a genuine risk of this type, then such aircraft should be grounded until the problem is fixed; but if we allow ourselves to be cowed by being told that everything 'could be' lethally dangerous until proven completely safe, then we are doomed to be forever in the thrall of petty tyrants and nanny-state fascists. Mark Carden Stroud.
Gloucestershire
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