ICE TO SEE YOU, TO SEE YOU, ICE!
Call for greater winter ice visibility to save NHS
SAFETY CAMPAIGNERS have called for ice to be coloured this winter in an attempt to prevent the thousands of accidents that result from people treading on the slippery substance. Each year, over 10,000 Brits find themselves admitted to A&E departments after falling on frozen pavements and steps. And the main reason seems to be that the ice is invisible.
“The problem is that ice is completely see-through,” said Ursula Bear, president of the British Society for the Prevention of Accidents. “When you’re walking along an icy pavement, you simply can’t see the stuff. You can only see the pavement underneath it.” she continued.
“It’s like it’s not there. No wonder so many people go arse over tit, if you’ll pardon my language.”
scientists
And the society called for scientists to ensure that this winter’s ice is made completely visible so that people can take steps to avoid it.
“If they could make ice be blue or orange or something, then we’d all be able to see it and Casualty admissions would be falling rather than people,” she said.
Bear admitted that she wasn’t quite sure how ice could be coloured, but believed the same technology used in the manufacture of Zoom ice lollies could be used.
“I’m not a scientist, but surely the stuff they put in Zooms could be fired into the clouds to colour the rain
and snow that forms the ice,” she suggested. “I mean, they can put a man on the fucking Moon, if you’ll pardon my language again.”
And the BSPA have already enlisted the services of fashion guru Gok Wan to advise on the best colour for the winter ice. “You want something that stands out against the drabness of the season,” he told Take a Shit magazine. “No pastels or delicate hues. You want colours that say ‘watch that ice, girl!’. Something like a vibrant goji berry red or zippy bubblegum pink that will really pop.”
magazine
But boffins at the Met Office said they were sceptical about whether the scheme would work. “We’re sceptical about whether the scheme would work,” said Tomasz Schaffernacker and Alex Beresford.