OSHA Noise Standards and FIRST Events

[Bongle]

Originally Posted by Tom Line

I understand the opposing argument, that we need to be "safe". However I am one of those people who think that we have taken "safe" WAY too far, and thrown out personal responsibility in the process. Just my .02

Personal responsibility is a fantastic concept, but it requires people to be able to make informed decisions. Many of the people attending a FIRST event will be children (FLL, scouts, girl guides, etc), rookie teams, sponsors, or parents, who may not know (and wouldn't even expect) that a regional will be as loud as some are. Without advance knowledge that an event is loud, people cannot make informed decisions.

So saying "protect yourself, bring earplugs" is fine, there may be people who would never expect they'd need earplugs at "that robot thing I'm going to this afternoon".

However, I fully agree with your opinion that some aspects of safety have gotten out of hand at regionals and in some cases are actually unsafe.