Safety? Or Ar$e-covering?

[Greynomad]

Bought some rope at the German Supermarket yesterday...

Read the safety Instructions on the back label today:

1. Do not use the rope for lifting purposes or as part of lifting machinery or lifting accessories. (It's only 4.5mm nylon, 100kg breaking strain, but it should handle light loads.)
2. Do not use the rope for tieing (sic) down or for securing loads. (Um. That is why I bought it!)
3. Do not use the rope as personal protective equipment. The rope is not suitable for rock climbing. (Uh. 22 metres is not going to get you very far up mountain... and I really had my heart set on winding it around my hands while I did a bit of welding. )
4. When using the rope, never exceed the rated capacity. (At last! Sensible.)
5. Keep bystanders out of the area. Rope breakage or recoil can lead to injury to persons or to property damage. (Also sensible.)
6. Keep the rope out of the reach of children. (I'm OK with that.)
7. Check rope for signs of damage. Never use a damaged rope. (Logic there, too.)

[BruceS]

Yep, no chance of being sued there!!!
I've had a lot of trouble trying to buy genuine UV stable/resistant ropes.
I think I finally got a decent one for clothes lines up on the top deck.
It is a couple of mm's too thick but it seems to love the sun so far.
One of my mooring ropes gives off a powdery dust of nylon when using it & it's a bugger once in your eyes.
UV just eats them cheapies away in quick fashion.
So called "yachty ropes" are by far the best value for money.

[T1 Terry]

Rope for lifting or personal safety must pass strict testing, every batch must be tested, very expensive and the rope has a relatively short life time before it can no longer be used for lifting or personal safety gear. When I was working as a fitter in heavy industry, the ropes, shackles, electrical leads, electrical tools, scaffolding, harnesses and just about anything else you can think of that could possibly lead to an injury or death if it failed, had to be inspected and tagged every 12 mths, some every 6 mths and some including the ropes and harnesses, every 3 mths. The safety tag had to be inspected by the person using it to ensure it was within the safety period and then also physically inspect it to ensure it had suffered no physically identifiable damage since the last inspection.
Needless to say, rope from the discount store did not even make it past the initial inspection This is also why the Testra pulling rope is discarded after each use, cheaper than getting it reinspected and the risk of it ever breaking and causing injury, death or equipment damage.

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

But all I wanted was some rope to tie down loads (usually small/light, like a coupla sleepers, a bicycle, some potplants) on our 4'x4' trailer!!!
I'm not carrying the Mona Lisa or King Tut's gold face-mask...
And SWMBO wasn't planning to do any roof-surfing with it!

[pet-els]

I thought that ropes were passed out, loads have to be tied down with straps now.

PeterH

[Greynomad]

Got four ratchet straps, too.
They have their uses, but there are times that only rope has the flexibility and purchase to hold a load.
Straps lose a lot of their strength if you twist them. And often I need to tie a knot around an odd-shaped load. Yer carn’t do that with ratchet straps, cos they lose their strength.
Rope and a truckie’s hitch is the answer.

[T1 Terry]

But all I wanted was some rope to tie down loads (usually small/light, like a coupla sleepers, a bicycle, some potplants) on our 4'x4' trailer!!!
I'm not carrying the Mona Lisa or King Tut's gold face-mask...
And SWMBO wasn't planning to do any roof-surfing with it!

I really don't think they care about the value of your goods you plan to tie down, they are more concerned about the item coming adrift and endangering someone else. It is your call if you ignore the warning, they are just saying they haven't subjected each batch to the Aust Standards testing process so they can not say that it is safe for tying down a load or lifting a weight that could fall and injure someone.
This is much the same as the changes to the workplace safety rules, the onus was shifted from the employer making sure the employee did everything safely to the worker being in charge of the safety of their particular work area. Work place safety call it a "risk assessment" so I'm guessing the same onus on the safety aspect is being moved from the manufacturer to the user and it is the user who is assessing if the risk is within acceptable limits.
Let's face it, there will always be an element of risk no matter what you do, something coming adrift from another vehicle and cutting the ropes for instance, or the trailer overturning and tearing the ropes away from their mounting point and allowing the load to become a missile.
More than one person has been killed by a tailshaft snapping and going through the windscreen of an oncoming vehicle, seatbelts, air bags, crumple zones, you name it, can't mitigate that sort of potential danger. Mandatory frequent vehicle safety inspection could help, but most people seem to be against that idea ......

[Greynomad]

Mandatory frequent vehicle safety inspection could help, but most people seem to be against that idea ......

NSW has it, Qld has it, WA has it (I think), Vic doesn't.
Don't know about t'other states.

I DO know that NSW people we've met invariably complain about the cost -- NOT the effort of making sure your vehicle passes.
If it wasn't such a rip-off cost, where the (private enterprise) inspectors know they have you over a barrel, I'd support it for Victoria, as well.

[T1 Terry]

The cost of the vehicle inspections carried out by the private scheme are fixed, they can't screw you for second inspection fee either. The one over the RMS pits is the absolute rip off, carried by little Hitler's that get their thrills by making life as hard as possible when ever possible. You can go to another inspector if you aren't happy with the first inspection done by the private inspection stations, but you have to go to Rosebury in Sydney to the head office if you want to challenge the findings of the local RMS inspection mob.