Driving in the Slow Lane

Here's a bit of rubbish journalism for you.

In a piece about Richard Hammond's crash for The Independent's online edition, David Randall wrote:

"...the made-for-TV stunt, reminiscent of the risks the late Australian wildlife daredevil Steve Irwin used to take..."

Really? I don't ever recall Steve Irwin strapping himself into a car fitted with a rocket engine and trying to break the land speed record.

It's a slightly desperate attempt to link two completely unconnected news stories, a bit like the girl on Question Time the other day who asked if, given the tragic death of Steve Irwin and the injuries sustained by Richard Hammond, reality TV should not be more closely regulated.

A few points:

1. Steve Irwin and Richard Hammond didn't make reality TV programmes; 'reality TV' is when you trap a hideous bunch of people in a particular situation and try to get them to shag/kill each other.
2. Steve Irwin was killed in an extremely freak accident - only 17 deaths have been recorded by stingrays in Australia since 1969.
3. There have always been daredevils and people willing to put themselves in harm's way in order to break records or entertain the public - nobody made them do it.

The rather hysterical, and slightly pious, dissembling of the whole 'irresponsible' Top Gear affair has rather annoyed me - and I don't even like cars. An element of risk is what a lot of programmes are based on - the only good thing about ensuring all shows are Health & Safety-ed to within an inch of their lives is that it would mean an end to Last of the Summer Wine - after all, you wouldn't be able to send a load of old men down the side of a hill in a bath any more.