Santa to wear seatbelt in his sleigh for safety reasons
London, Nov 30 (UNI) ''Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way... Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh'' -- fitted with a seatbelt.
This year's Christmas fun, however, seems to have been diluted as Santa would be confined to sitting and wearing a seatbelt to satisfy the health and safety brigade of West Midlands.
Every Christmas Eve he whizzes around the world at top speed, with an unblemished driving record but the local rotary club has been forced to fit a belt to the sleigh he uses there - or face a 200 pound increase in its insurance premiums.
Health and safety experts are forcing Santa to wear a seatbelt in case he falls off his sleigh.
President of the Halesowen and Rowley Regis Rotary Club Barry Wheeler commented, ''He would be more likely to injure himself getting in and out of the sleigh than actually falling out of it.'' From past 20 years, it is made sure that Santa gets to go through town and wave to the children, Daily Mail quoted him as saying.
''But this year we found out we actually needed a much more wideranging insurance policy for Santa riding on the sleigh because of health and safety rules. It would have run into a four-figure sum,'' he said, adding that the group paid for Santa's visits out of club funds, and could not afford the higher premium.
Kelly
Ostler,
from
the
Association
of
British
Insurers,
said,
''We
want
people
to
be
able
to
enjoy
themselves
while
being
protected
against
other
people's
possible
negligence.''
''This
is
as
much
about
protecting
Santa
from
other
drivers
as
protecting
him
from
the
speed
of
his
sleigh.''
UNI