To wish fireworks for home use were banned?

[ValiantMouse]

People have been letting them off for over a week now. I'm sitting in my house and it sounds like the Battle of Britain is going on outside, mainly thanks to one neighbour who thinks it's ace to let off very powerful fireworks. I really hate it, my nerves are shot and if it's anything like last night, it'll be midnight before they stop.

AIBU?

I saw this footage of a fire crew being attacked the other day. It's from last year.

YANBU.

I don't mind fireworks if the people using them are sensible and considerate - which it sounds as though not all are. It was alright round my way but my nanny has a massive phobia of them and went home early as she wanted to be home before people started throwing them about.

Can't provide statistics, but there is always a case of some nutter with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a military flare in another, deciding to shoot it in a crowd of people. No bans or regulations can stop an idiot from doing something irresponsible and illegal.

If the sale of fireworks to the general public was banned, then those unmitigated bastards wouldn't have been able to maim police horses with them. What a despicable act of cruelty.

Then they would throw bricks, stones, or bottles.
Maybe lets ban PEOPLE instead.

YANBU. They have been going off randomly all week. One went off at 11:20 last night and woke DD up. It was close because I could smell the aftermath.

It's not a nanny state to regulate something that is dangerous and often in the hands of total dipshits with little consideration.

Just make them only available on certain days and with authority to by from the council or something.

Basic crime prevention advice is to limit access to weapons/missiles - plastic instead of glass bottles, secured compounds for building materials and ground maintenance to remove loose stones.

You can't prevent people being arseholes, but you can minimise the risk of them killing or maiming someone when they are.

You just don't get it do you Nataleejah

Here are some facts about fireworks and potential risks of not using them properly:

Sparklers get five times hotter than cooking oil.
A rocket can reach speeds of 150mph.
A firework shell can reach as high as 200m.
Three sparklers burning together generate the same heat as a blowtorch.
You see the explosion of a firework before hearing it because sound travels at 761mph, but light travels at 671 million mph.
The majority of firework-related injuries happen at family or private parties.
Around half of all injuries are to children under the age of 17.
The most common injuries are to hands, followed by the eyes and face.

YANBU.

It's ridiculous that the 'nanny state' hasn't stepped in to properly control who is buying explosives. Not a year goes by where hundreds of people aren't injured, some very seriously, by fireworks. As a teen I had a very near miss when a bunch of yobs set a firework off aimed at me while I was walking to the shops. It passed about a foot from my face. Round here there's about a 3 week window where they're being let off. Yet not a single person in my immediate area has a garden large enough to be doing them safely. They're even being let off in the streets during the day. I can't imagine any reason to let them off during the day other than to cause a nuisance or hurt someone. We simply don't have a large enough police force in this country to ensure that it's safe enough to sell explosives to the general public.

And there is of course the nuisance element of it. I love organised displays. You get to watch some fireworks, have a hotdog, see the bonfire, etc. And they have definite end times. I'm a parent and have been a dog owner...making plans on how to cope for one, two or even three nights of the year would be completely fine. But as it is, I have a very upset 20 month old every night for about 3 weeks.

Even if we didn't ban them outside of organised displays, I think if something was put in place where people went on a course that they pay for in order to get their licence for purchase, things would get easier. The course would include all of the safety stuff including emergency first aid and the licence should be revocable if they've been found to be irresponsible with the explosives they've been allowed to purchase (including selling them on, letting them off in too-small gardens, etc). The licenced people should be able to purchase insurance for any displays of any size for a week around bonfire night and a week around new year. Anything they choose to do outside of those times wouldn't be insured, though wouldn't necessarily be illegal either.

Yes, I've thought about it an awful lot. But that's not too surprising considering there are so many people setting them off in the streets and so many people being injured by improper use.

YANBU, OP.

I am old and when I was small everyone and his dog had a little back garden display. Couple of rockets which would limp over the garden fence, a catherine wheel that didn't spin and a roman candle or two spitting sparks.

These days I am shocked at the size and power of what's available. I was also extremely pissed off when the cunts over the fence neighbours decided that firing a rocket over our roof was the way forward.

Long past time for organised displays only.

YANBU
When I was a kid I loved fireworks..they were this exciting once a year huge display and it was exciting. Now I have to deal with two months of crap mini displays every other night while my poor cats hide in terror. I think it's the over saturation that bothers me..it's not interesting if they happen every night.

It's not a case of not liking something and wanting it banned - I don't like prawn cocktail crisps but I wouldn't sign a petition to get them off the shelves

If prawn cocktail crisps hospitalised thousands of people I imagine there wouldn't need to be a petition to get them off the shelves!

Otoh lots of other things that involve injuries aren't banned.

I've said before that I'd be fine with fireworks being more expensive and less powerful, but I have let off a small number on one night every year for 30+ years. Our family has had a lot of enjoyment from this and not a single injury, not even close. Accordig to most on here, my tradition needs banning due to the actions of other folk.

YANBU.

I don't think simply restricting dates and times they can be used is the answer.
Some people will ignore that, it's not like that could be policed.
Even those using them only on the days permitted, it doesn't mean the fireworks will be used safely.

I think banning them from public sale is the best thing to do and only having licensed public displays.

Yes I can understand not wanting to ban them based on people and animals getting upset or anxious about them (although personally I think that in itself is a serious matter) but hundreds of people are seriously hurt by them.
Is the ability to light a rocket in your garden worth someone's life being ruined?

Is the ability to light a rocket in your garden worth someone's life being ruined?

Of course not, but that's a fatuous argument, we are all ruining lives by using cars, planes, even having new kitchens - there is a balance.

Of course there's a balance of benefit and risk to everyone and in this case I think the right balance lies in only allowing organised displays.

course not, but that's a fatuous argument, we are all ruining lives by using cars, planes, even having new kitchens - there is a balance.

And that's a ridiculous argument - those things have a use and a value, fireworks are over in a 'flash' and we're only talking about a ban on general sale, not on organised displays. Anyone who wants to go and see one would still be able to

YANBU - They are an irritant and nuisance. One night is enough. And why all night? It goes dark at 5.00pm - why are they still going off at 9, 10'o clock and even later?

And that's a ridiculous argument - those things have a use and a value

Depends on how you look at it, doesn't it? I am amazed it's so cheap and easy to destroy perfectly viable kitchens and bathrooms on the sole grounds that they are no longer visually appealing - it's all a balance.

I admit fireworks have no purpose or value except for entertainment, but that doesn't mean they have no purpose.

You haven't said why my 30-year strong tradition of safe and enjoyable home fireworks must end.

Then they would throw bricks, stones, or bottles.
Maybe lets ban PEOPLE instead.

Well said. Let's ban everything, everywhere, and let morons win. Fireworks are as safe as the person handling them.

I think they should restrict the sale of some of the larger and noisier fireworks, but keep the smaller ones on sale for home displays. Large public displays are nice, but it's also nice to watch fireworks through the patio window in the warmth of your own home!

Fireworks are as safe as the person handling them

Exactly! And, from the statistics over the years, (and the youtube videos of darwin award contenders) it's clear that a lot of people can't handle them safely.

So, rather than allow anyone to handle them, regardless of their abilities (or not), why not regulate them - in the same way, as for instance, chainsaws are regulated.

Otoh lots of other things that involve injuries aren't banned.
Indeed. We have fireworks every year. One injury in about 15 years, when DH burned his hand (did not lead to ANY cost to the NHS). I think banning them would be a complete over-reaction. There are plenty of other things I'd deal with first - like over-powered motorbikes ridden by under-25s (loudly, at night, very fast).