We  (the dog and I) are back from our walk this morning. On the main street one block up from our flat, we came across this electrical line hookup. This is on the main road, on a major sidewalk (pavement as they call it in the UK). That’s Chumley the dog’s head in the lower right corner. We have passed this way many times in the past months and not work is being done on this installation. Now, having come from a land of codes and litigation, an electrical installation of this type on a street in the US would never happen. It would most certainly not be left this way wherein anyone at anytime could access it. There are, as I see it two ways to assess this:

First, it is laxity on the part of the utility company to not button up this installation before leaving the site. This certainly speaks of a failure to adhere to minimal safety procedures.

Second, it implies a lack of litigation in the system here. Indeed, no one actually sues anyone, most certainly not the government or a public utility. There are few inspectors and those that exist function well on a crony system or can be encouraged with the right sort of gift. What’s more, there is an underlying assumption that the public is not stupid and understands danger when they see it. Warning barriers and signs are unnecessary because common sense would tell a passerby to avoid touching bare wires and connections.

So there it its just as it has for several months, perhaps years. High Voltage connections uncovered and open. And no one has been injured. Granted, it is not the busiest street in Kampala for foot traffic. But it is not an isolated avenue either. It enjoys constant traffic every weekday. (I shot these photos early Sunday morning.)

While I do not advocate dangerous installations of this sort, I do acknowledge the mindset of the culture that allows it to continue. If one were to suggest to the powers that be that such installations are an invitation to a lawsuit, they would laugh at you. It seems that the American system has given rise to litigation prompted by spilling hot coffee on oneself and blaming the seller for it. Or burglars suing owners of burgled property for injuries they, the burglar, sustained while criminally invading that property. We have entire industries now warning people of the obvious. All of this is a vain and foolish pursuit of risk-free living. We want to shift the responsibility, and thus the blame, on someone, indeed anyone else when what is required is simple common sense. If the coffee is hot (and it usually is) wouldn’t common sense warn your not to drive while holding it between your knees. Perhaps I am being ungrateful for the advances of a developed society. Here, in the Third World, there are few consumer protections. I fear the day when this society becomes so advanced as to find lawsuits everywhere.