Imagine walking down Quilchena Avenue and, without watching yourself, you trip over a sandwich sign, fall down, and break your neck.

This is exactly the kind of scenario lawyers would have us believe could happen. Well, it certainly could happen, but what’s perhaps more important to the lawyers is the issue of liability.

Recently, as reported on RTÉ radio in Ireland, a business owner in Ireland was fined about 400 Euros for a sandwich board sign of his that was found to be in violation of city bylaws. That’s close to $800 Cdn.

Wireless radiation, artificial sweeteners, mercury in vaccinations, genetically modified foods, and fluoridated water are all safe, but watch out for those sandwich boards; they are a huge threat to public safety — so we are told.

They claim that any injury resulting from a sandwich board sign mishap would be the responsibility of the business using the sign, rather than the clumsy pedestrian.

Granted, a collage of signs all over the sidewalk would not only be unsightly, but would turn the path into an obstacle course, making it especially challenging for seniors. However, municipalities tend to be excessive when enacting and enforcing bylaws regarding signage. They fear litigation like the plague and are willing participants in the eroding of personal responsibility. Nobody wants to be sued, but what kind of example is this for future generations and where do we go from there?

In Merritt, one must obtain a permit before putting up a sandwich board on the sidewalk. Would that include neighbourhood children putting up a lemonade stand? After a recent incident in Kamloops, I would have to say yes. About two weeks ago, Kamloops bylaw officers arrived quicker than an Ambulance to a disorderly lemonade stand that was forced to move, because it allegedly presented a hazard.

I was quite amused, earlier this year, to see a local business bypass the red tape by using their vehicle to advertise their business. I’m not sure what ever came of it, but I don’t see that spectacle-decorated truck anymore.

Merritt’s bylaw reads, “on commercially or industrially zoned property with a single business, one sandwich board sign is permitted provided the sign is located on the land owned or rented by the business being advertised and that the sign is not larger than 0.75 metres wide by 1.2 metres in height and a minimum horizontal passageway clearance of 1.5 metres is maintained on any private sidewalks.”

The City of Merritt is covering their end, but what about parents and schools teaching personal responsibility to the youth? Should we not be trying to prevent another “Generation Litigation” from arising?

These types of bylaws appear to rarely serve legitimate purposes, but instead help lawyers and a few cunning individuals capitalize in unfortunate circumstances that are often self-inflicted.

— John O'Connor