https://petitions.gov.je/petitions/200151
Only allow fireworks to be sold or supplied in Jersey for licensed displays
Every November fireworks are freely available, and are set off in the streets much to the serious distress of dogs and other family pets, there is equally a risk of personal injury and damage to property.
Firework displays are enjoyed by thousands of people throughout the year during a variety of celebrations. There can be no real need or benefit in the use and sale of ‘domestic’ fireworks which in reality cause more distress and danger than they do enjoyment.
That’s Andy Jones petition, and he has a point. Totally signed – I agree.
Only allow fireworks to be sold or supplied in Jersey for licensed displays
Every November fireworks are freely available, and are set off in the streets much to the serious distress of dogs and other family pets, there is equally a risk of personal injury and damage to property.
Firework displays are enjoyed by thousands of people throughout the year during a variety of celebrations. There can be no real need or benefit in the use and sale of ‘domestic’ fireworks which in reality cause more distress and danger than they do enjoyment.
That’s Andy Jones petition, and he has a point. Totally signed – I agree.
Martin (my autistic son) - rather like dogs – used to go mad when fireworks went off - often outside of the 5th of November in the week before or after – he’d self-harm and bang his head against a wall. I remember ringing round – Deputy, Constable, Senator – and they all pushed me to someone else. The Senator (who had just been elected from being a St B Deputy) told me it was a matter for Deputies (whose ranks he had left) as it was a Parish matter!!
He lost two votes that night at the next election. The Deputies told me to contact the Constable. The Constable told me to contact Home Affairs Deputy Layzell, and he said he couldn’t do anything because it was all resting with the Constables. And Social Services were closed as it was after 5 so there was no Special Needs Social worker to help a young but very strong teenager lashing out at anyone near him or trying to bash his brains out.
Let's face it. It just can’t be regulated or policed properly with private sales. There’s no use having regulations if they can’t be policed.
A correspondent writes:
He lost two votes that night at the next election. The Deputies told me to contact the Constable. The Constable told me to contact Home Affairs Deputy Layzell, and he said he couldn’t do anything because it was all resting with the Constables. And Social Services were closed as it was after 5 so there was no Special Needs Social worker to help a young but very strong teenager lashing out at anyone near him or trying to bash his brains out.
Let's face it. It just can’t be regulated or policed properly with private sales. There’s no use having regulations if they can’t be policed.
A correspondent writes:
"This year we have had to endure fireworks over 5 nights - most of which have been private ‘displays’. They started Friday last and continued every night till Tuesday even though officially Bonfire Night was Monday. I note there are two more scheduled for this coming weekend too - organised events as they may be."
"Clearly this has upset many pet owners for whom I have some sympathy - our cat was skittish and certainly was troubled by the louder bangs."
"But just as concerning was the incident on Clos des Sables when a lighted firework was pushed through the door of a house - and over the grapevine I hear that in several parts of the island (including St. Brelade) fireworks were being lobbed into the path of cars by youngsters - juveniles. Little has emerged in the media about that, but that perhaps is understandable as this sort of behaviour gives others ideas - and right now we can be certain that ther are quite a few fireworks around yet to be ‘let off’."
"Clearly this has upset many pet owners for whom I have some sympathy - our cat was skittish and certainly was troubled by the louder bangs."
"But just as concerning was the incident on Clos des Sables when a lighted firework was pushed through the door of a house - and over the grapevine I hear that in several parts of the island (including St. Brelade) fireworks were being lobbed into the path of cars by youngsters - juveniles. Little has emerged in the media about that, but that perhaps is understandable as this sort of behaviour gives others ideas - and right now we can be certain that ther are quite a few fireworks around yet to be ‘let off’."
"The fact that juveniles are getting hold of fireworks despite the law which restricts purchase to adults (over 18’s) is another reason why sales should be retsricted to licensed and regulated organisers of displays. As it is, those suppliers of fireworks who are commissioned for either public or private displays, are required by law to put a notice into the JEP to say when, where, at what time, approximate duration and for what purpose a display is to take place. No such requirement is made of anyone else."
Fireworks not set off, because of bad weather, are often stockpiled for later – for instance New Year’s Eve where there are often some bangs going off.
Time to call a stop to all but organised professional displays!
Not surprisingly - I blogged on it four times!
A few extracts below.
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2009/10/fireworks.html
There seems to be no way of easily policing these mavericks, as a firework can easily be set off anywhere, the point of origin difficult to trace, and the instigator long gone before any authorities arrive. If the indiscriminate use of fireworks after sale cannot be policed properly, then the sensible option would be to restrict the period of sales.
I think that it is about time fireworks were regulated to proper Parish displays and commercial users, rather than anyone. I find it incredible that you need a licence to have a firearm, yet anyone over 18 can just walk into a shop, and buy high explosive materials, from which - with the use of the internet - it is very easy to create bombs. I cannot see any logic in that at all.
https://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/fireworks.html
BBC News: A car was hit by a firework thrown from another car on a Jersey road, according to police. The incident happened at 2130 GMT on Tuesday on Victoria Avenue, St Helier. Officers said they had two separate calls about it, and the police had since spoken to and given "words of advice" to the driver. Following two other incidents where lit fireworks were put through letterboxes, police in the island are warning people to use them in a responsible manner.
I think it is time that fireworks were restricted - like firearms - to people with proper training. You need a licence to have a gun, but everyone over 18 can just go out and but fireworks - surely a recipe for a tragedy.
It is not a question of a "nanny state" but of reasonable safety. Once anyone could get in a car and drive. Now we have to pass a driving test, because driving a car if not trained can be extremely dangerous. If I own a gun, I need a gun licence. And yet anyone can buy and set off these explosives!
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2010/11/danger-of-private-fireworks.html
Incidents in the UK that are most dangerous come when fireworks are put through letterboxes. I know of only one case of that happening, back in the 1980s, when some bangers were pushed through the letterbox of a bungalow, inside which were a family of four. The father went out, caught the culprits, and allegedly literally banged their heads together, which is why the incident was not reported to the police. I wouldn't advise anyone to take their law into their own hands like that, but I did sympathise with his actions.
In Newcastle, there has been a spate of incidents, one involving a letterbox. The police caught a 16 year old with fireworks, and it does raise the question that, like drinking and smoking, it may be perfectly possible for younger teenagers to get hold of fireworks, despite strict laws on what can be sold. Someone older than 18 may legitimately buy fireworks, and sell them for a profit to youngsters, just as with drink or cigarettes, or the shop keeper may not exercise as much diligence in asking for proof of age as they should.
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2014/11/remember-remember-fireworks-are.html
Now I have no problems with fireworks in organised displays, because they have set times. What I object to is the random setting off fireworks by individuals from now for at least a month, sometimes even longer if they have the odd firework left over to set off New Year’s Eve. And there is a lot of that about.
Data collected across Britain in previous years shows that, on average, around 1,000 people visit A&E for treatment of a firework-related injury in the four weeks around Bonfire Night, with half of the injuries being suffered by under-18s.
Fireworks not set off, because of bad weather, are often stockpiled for later – for instance New Year’s Eve where there are often some bangs going off.
Time to call a stop to all but organised professional displays!
Not surprisingly - I blogged on it four times!
A few extracts below.
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2009/10/fireworks.html
There seems to be no way of easily policing these mavericks, as a firework can easily be set off anywhere, the point of origin difficult to trace, and the instigator long gone before any authorities arrive. If the indiscriminate use of fireworks after sale cannot be policed properly, then the sensible option would be to restrict the period of sales.
I think that it is about time fireworks were regulated to proper Parish displays and commercial users, rather than anyone. I find it incredible that you need a licence to have a firearm, yet anyone over 18 can just walk into a shop, and buy high explosive materials, from which - with the use of the internet - it is very easy to create bombs. I cannot see any logic in that at all.
https://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/fireworks.html
BBC News: A car was hit by a firework thrown from another car on a Jersey road, according to police. The incident happened at 2130 GMT on Tuesday on Victoria Avenue, St Helier. Officers said they had two separate calls about it, and the police had since spoken to and given "words of advice" to the driver. Following two other incidents where lit fireworks were put through letterboxes, police in the island are warning people to use them in a responsible manner.
I think it is time that fireworks were restricted - like firearms - to people with proper training. You need a licence to have a gun, but everyone over 18 can just go out and but fireworks - surely a recipe for a tragedy.
It is not a question of a "nanny state" but of reasonable safety. Once anyone could get in a car and drive. Now we have to pass a driving test, because driving a car if not trained can be extremely dangerous. If I own a gun, I need a gun licence. And yet anyone can buy and set off these explosives!
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2010/11/danger-of-private-fireworks.html
Incidents in the UK that are most dangerous come when fireworks are put through letterboxes. I know of only one case of that happening, back in the 1980s, when some bangers were pushed through the letterbox of a bungalow, inside which were a family of four. The father went out, caught the culprits, and allegedly literally banged their heads together, which is why the incident was not reported to the police. I wouldn't advise anyone to take their law into their own hands like that, but I did sympathise with his actions.
In Newcastle, there has been a spate of incidents, one involving a letterbox. The police caught a 16 year old with fireworks, and it does raise the question that, like drinking and smoking, it may be perfectly possible for younger teenagers to get hold of fireworks, despite strict laws on what can be sold. Someone older than 18 may legitimately buy fireworks, and sell them for a profit to youngsters, just as with drink or cigarettes, or the shop keeper may not exercise as much diligence in asking for proof of age as they should.
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2014/11/remember-remember-fireworks-are.html
Now I have no problems with fireworks in organised displays, because they have set times. What I object to is the random setting off fireworks by individuals from now for at least a month, sometimes even longer if they have the odd firework left over to set off New Year’s Eve. And there is a lot of that about.
Data collected across Britain in previous years shows that, on average, around 1,000 people visit A&E for treatment of a firework-related injury in the four weeks around Bonfire Night, with half of the injuries being suffered by under-18s.
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