Book Review: "Safety Myth 101" by Carsten Busch

There are many safety books out there – some famous, some infamous – but Safety Myth 101 by Carsten Busch is up there with the best. I first met the author in Vienna, as part of a rail safety forum we both used to attend. It was a refreshing place to be, as members were encouraged to be very open about things that had happened, and share good practice in the same sort of way. We lost contact when he left the Norwegian rail industry, but Linkedin and Facebook build many bridges. Now advising the Norwegian government on occupational safety, Carsten’s book cuts across all industries and disciplines and provides so much food for thought that the reader’s in danger of obesity.

One of the joys of books like this are the footnotes. For important reference works, I do not agree with the late Poet Laureate John Betjeman’s view of them as ‘foot and note disease’; and besides, Carsten’s are as entertaining a read as the book itself, with many vital nuggets of information within their ranks. 

I could pick one or two myths for special mention – a favourite would be no. 36, Humour has no place in safety – arrant nonsense, if done with taste. But overall the book invites us to challenge, to criticise, to enter into a creative dialectic with received wisdom in the pursuit of new – better – ideas. And when we find them, we should avoid jingoistic slogans, whose over-familiarity can undermine their own good intent. But don’t take my word for it: as Carsten says – DISCUSSION AND LEARNING ARE MANDATORY; AGREEMENT IS OPTIONAL.