The NICEIC and ELECSA have teamed up to launch a campaign that will encourage men to ditch the DIY when it comes to electricity and call in an expert. Every year, 12,500 house fires, 750 serious injuries, and 10 deaths are caused by unsafe electrics in domestic environments, often first installed by DIYers or inexpert handymen. The charity Electrical Safety First suggests that nearly half of all severe electrical shocks are caused by unsafe DIY. Such clear dangers have prompted the NICEIC to launch a campaign to ‘Ban the Bravado’ so that British men call in professionals to carry out vital electrical work, ensuring safety in domestic electrical systems.
DIY: the Gender Divide
‘Ban the Bravado’ is particularly aimed at men as 61% of blokes in the UK say they are happy to attempt DIY without any prior experience and 38% would even attempt vital electrical work. The figure for women, meanwhile, is just 8%. The study that uncovered these figures also looked into the reasons behind this overconfidence, finding that 89% would be unwilling to ask for help and 58% considered themselves capable of doing everything without help.
Despite 36% of those surveyed stating that men should be self sufficient, the study also found that nearly two thirds of men thought that their DIY skills were average or below average and 29% had previously had to call in a professional to fix a bodge job. Not only are these DIY blunders unsafe, on average they also cost £1,165 to put right!
The Campaign
The NICEIC campaign is fronted by Dion Dublin, former England footballer and Homes Under the Hammer presenter, as well as NICEIC technical expert Darren Staniforth. Dublin said, “I’ve teamed up with NICEIC to encourage all consumers to ditch the bravado and get a professional registered with a government approved scheme to carry out any electrical work in the home.”
Staniforth commented, “It’s very worrying that so many men in the UK have such a blasé attitude to major home improvement work, despite many admitting to coming a cropper at some point. While confidence is certainly an admirable quality to have, it cannot come to the detriment of safety in the home – they must be realistic about their abilities and know when it’s time to call in a professional.”
Materials are available on the NICEIC website at http://www.niceic.com/banthebravado with a selection of videos that indicate search terms people use when trying to deal with electrics, a case study detailing an instance of a poorly wired property and a rogues’ gallery of dangerous electrical work uncovered by professional electricians.
Spread the Message
You can help support the ‘Ban the Bravado’ campaign by sharing the message on social media. There are several Youtube videos that can be shared across Twitter and Facebook and you can even add your own photos of poor electrical work to the NICEIC website. As summer DIY season gets under way, Test-Meter is fully behind this campaign to prevent dangerous bodged electrical work by always calling in a professional.