Should Germany ban fireworks?
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
- Every New Year's Eve German cities are lit up with fireworks let off without regard to anyone's safety. According to opinion polls, most Germans would like to see this tradition banned; but the German Association of Towns and Municipalities says this would be overkill, and in any case impossible.
In this video I briefly describe my impressions as an immigrant, look at a few of the arguments for and against a ban, and ask what you think.
Chapters:
00:00 Posing the question
00:30 Comparing experiences
02:10 The origins of the tradition
02:42 It's dangerous
03:06 It's nightmarish
03:51 It's a waste of money
04:16 The counter arguments
05:13 A middle ground?
06:11 What do you think?
Music:
"Style Funk" and "Hot Swing"
by Kevin MacLeod incompetech.com/
Creative Commons Attribution licence
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I went to Berlin with friends for NYE 2006, and we happened to be crossing a bridge at Midnight, and I couldn't believe that there were people letting off rockets along the river from wine and champagne bottles held in their hands, or just letting them off in any old direction. It scared the hell out of me, given I grew up with the same public safety notices as you. A culture shock if ever there was one!
And that's how people get injured. Shouldn't it be common sense to NOT hold the bottle in their hands?
I know someone who held a firework that was not lit. But a spark from another lit it and it went off in his hands. He lost 2 fingers... and he wasn't even drunk! That's another point. Many people are drunk when they let off the rockets. They get reckless.
My children are one and six years old. I probably feel like you felt every year when we are outside, scared they might get hit. I'm always glad when it's over.
It's interesting that in german discourse main arguments against fireworks concern their unsafety and that they are stressful for people with PTSD, because in Poland we tend to focus more on pollution caused by fireworks and their enviromental impact (fireworks killing birds, scaring the dogs, etc.)
Fun fact in Germany we call fireworks imported from other countries "Polenböller" which basically means polish fireworks
Actually, the most concerns are NOT due to unsafety (that is heard not that often as you might think), but as waste of money. Instead, people should donate their money to Bread for the World or similar organizations. Personally, I think the whole discussion is absurd and exaggerated. In Germany, politicians alone waste so much tax money, whereas the cost of fireworks doesn't even amount to one part in a thousand. And there are certainly far more dangerous things that are allowed than fireworks, which are only ever dangerous when the user is drunk, which is a bad combination indeed. But driving drunk is certainly also very dangerous and yet people still do it, even though it's illegal. But it fits in with the new German (green) culture of prohibition, instead of relying on enlightenment and reason, it is banned.
Oh these points are talked about a lot but they seem to fanish the higher up the talking person is. The Local discord imo in descending order: Animals, pollution, Fire hazard, safety, cost. I NEVER heard anyone ,outside of personal interactions, mention peoples mental health.
I once had a dog, which was very scared, because it was too loud for him. But that wasn't on Sylvester, it was during a thunder storm. You can't ban thunder storms, so why should you ban fireworks?
PTSD is just overexaggerated. In Germany only the first postwar new year of 1945/1946 started without fireworks. And that was probably more due to the occupation.
On 31.12.1946, though private fireworks were prohibited by military government, large public fireworks might have received approval (for example the winter fireworks in Frankfurt a. M.).
Furthermore the noise-making pyrotechnic returned to private usages way before the visual effects. (Okay it also was cheaper.)
Overall, without firecrackers the youth found other means to make hell of a noise to fall suit with new years tradition. [Before plastic invaded the households a wooden spoon and a metal bowl/bucket were always at hand.]
So much for PTSD in post WWII Germany. (Okay, maybe Germans just ain't the best role model for sensitivity either.)
Guy Fawkes is one of the things I miss most now I've moved to Germany. Mind you, in Britain it seems to have been mostly overrun by the imported American version of Halloween.
There has been talk about banning private citizens from buying fireworks here in Sweden due to the risks. But I don't know the extent of the ban since I can see people firing it anyway. Professional fireworks are by far better and safer. Crowds standing in streets in the city/town firing fireworks without safety concerns is frightening. I really dislike the days between Christmas and New Year because that is when kids go crazy just because it is allowed. I try to avoid being in town then.
🙄
It actually is only allowed in the night of New Year's Eve. But you are allowed to by it in the few days between Christmas and New Year. Children (and some adults) do not bother, though.
I agree, fireworks should be handled by professionals only, and should not be something everyone can buy.
Or you bastards that hate freedom could move to North Korea, where the common person has no freedom at all.
I am a member of the voluntary fire brigade here in Germany and I do not see a single valid point in banning fireworks. The imposed regulations are extremely strict, making legal fireworks very safe to use. For example it’s physically impossible to receive a severe injury like a missing finger from a legal firecracker. They are limited to 6g of black powder (no other substance allowed!) and a noise level of 120 dB. The worst injury one can get from such a firecracker exploding in once hand are some burns. This is why only 5% of injuries at New Year’s Eve are caused by fireworks, most actually come from alcohol consumption and its results. What’s actually dangerous are illegal fireworks (mostly imports from eastern EU members with less strict rules). These can contain much more and much stronger explosives which are in fact able to cause severe injuries like the ones described in the video.
As has been said, “wasting money“ is not an argument for a ban as everyone can decide for himself what he does with his money.
It is true that fireworks pose a risk of causing fires. For that reason there are already ban zones imposed around hospitals etc and especially fire sensitive buildings (mostly historic buildings made from wood and similar materials). There still are fires but they are relatively easy to cope with.
Regarding violence with the aid of fireworks as it happened last year, this is sad and should be harshly reprimanded. Again though, fireworks aren’t the problem. The people committing these crimes used large quantities of illegal fireworks, blank guns + signal ammunition and also threw other objects mike stones, bottles and once even a fire extinguisher. Overall, it can be expected that a ban on legal fireworks would not help with this problem, if these people want to commit violence then they will.
Another argument that’s common is that fireworks would hurt the environment. As the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environment Agency) stated, this is simply not the case. Fireworks produce nearly no CO2 and the waste contained 90% paper, wood and clay. -
all natural materials. Plastic usage is getting reduced with packaging made from cardboard and similar measures.
On the other hand, fireworks are an old tradition and simply a part of New Year’s Eve in Germany, like the Christmas tree is a must be for 24. December. I definitely agree to the educational model of coping with fireworks. There is a recent video from NDR (an official German tv program) supporting my line of argument:
ruclips.net/user/live8YKQNUK_WtY?si=IZLvM7qH1k27BW6N
Thanks for the neural style of this video, great work as always 👍
Personally, I'm fairly neutral on bans, but I think the worst problem may be the contribution to fine particulates in the air. Around here, even before the rockets stop going up, the air begins to look like a strong fog.
And of course, while the law says it's only allowed for a short time, teens and young adults will let off stuff at least a week before and after. I often say (mostly with regard to traffic laws) that there's no point in making laws if you're not going to enforce them - worse, you train people to ignore the law.
@@KaiHenningsen I agree on the latter part but still want to mention a few things regarding the fine particulate dust. It only adds up to 0,7% of the overall yearly emission of such material and, as you have said, mostly only happens in a very narrow bit of time, that being the hours around midnight. Before and after there really isn’t enough to create that fog, except for large cities. The thing about these emissions is that they contain different substances than the fine particulates from for example car tires. Those are problematic because it’s hard for the body to remove from the lungs but the ones from fireworks contain mostly salts and other materials that can easily by diluted in water, thereby they are washed out of the lungs fairly quickly and can’t cause serious health problems. This statement is again supported by the interview partner from the Umweltbundesamt in the NDR video I linked to my previous comment. Companies are also taking measures to further reduce the emissions of such particles.
I missed the aspect, that fireworks do really scare animals.
Even though you can lock up your dog, your cat and your hamster and some of them may not care at all, many of them will panic from the constant bombardement that especially in cities will start as early as 26. December and sometimes won't really end before 6. January.
And that's only about pets. For wildlife it is even harder and worse. Some are waking up in their winter sleep and can not afford losing the resources they need to hold out until spring.
They all will also suffer from the dirt left behind.
And not only the animals. I used to live in Berlin for 12 years and after spending one xmas / New Years Eve there, I always left the city over the holidays.
I thought of that too but then again he said we wasn't listing all the arguments, so fair enough.
Oh wow very shocking, i wonder how every animal have survived till the day..
I agree fully, that one night is not worth it. I am still waiting after 3 hours or more for my cat to come out. I can only you imagine how wild animals take all this. But who cares, we got fireworks, sad sad world.
Prohibition hasn't worked well for most things. So educate and regulate it is for me. And yes, offer free entry municipal fireworks, which is a much underused ressource. With the well communicated caveat "if we can keep our city cleaning bill smaller this year, because you refrained from private fireworks, we can make a bigger municipal firework next year".
The problem with The Prohibition is the side effect of boosting organised crime. However, it did succeed in curbing alcoholism.
Doesn't help people with PTSD. Municipal fireworks still go "boom". There is just no way to make everyone happy.
@@martinc.720 People with PTSD have to brace up. Military government approved first public fireworks in Germany in 1946. And I'm afraid if fireworks weren't prohibited for new year 1945/46 some people would have eventually produced something to go up dramatically. 🙈
Oh, and fuck wildlife, while we're at it.
@@vaclav_fejt Technically that's illegal since 2013 (again, after the restrictive law was dropped in 1969).
I grew up in the heartland of America nearly blowing off my fingers every 4th of July. I have started field fires and injured myself and others. But even I won't F with German fireworks on New Years!
As an Aussie who grew up with fireworks being completely banned in the state I lived in. I lived in the UK 8 years and I was shocked/amazed how much fireworks there was. I loved it and I would spend money on them and once it was done and dusted then move on to another day.
Growing up in rural Germany I never cared particularly about the dangers of fireworks and found them overall an enjoyable part of the New Year Eve's tradition.
All of that changed when I moved to Berlin over 10 years ago. My issue is not the New Year Eve itself, but the odd three or four days leading up to it, and then another few days afterwards. Usually children and teenagers are throwing them carelessly out of windows and off of balconies, I had more than one firework exploding right in my face, in the middle of the day.
Friends of mine had even worse experiences, and some of them are literally not leaving the house for a whole week during this time. They take vacation from work, have food be delivered to their door step, anything to avoid having to go out into this madness.
Are germans doing this or mostly immigrants/germans with immigrant background? Is this a german "tradition"?
Because this sounds more like what would happen in the mediterranean area but i don't know about germany
"... not leaving the house for a whole week" - Well, I often go to the town center of Stuttgart on New Year's Eve, right in the middle of pedestrian zones and squares with large crowds of people. I never encountered a firework "exploding right in my face" at all. Maybe Stuttgart is quieter than any rural parts, but I highly doubt that. Maybe I have very much luck all the decades long, but I highly doubt that.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like how many people treat fireworks. But I highly doubt your description.
I googled the population of Germany. Apparently it's about 83 million people. €180 million therefore works out at €2.17 per person, which isn't an excessive amount. The problem with statistics is that amy small amount multiplied by the population of a big country sounds huge.
Not to forget that this money was labeled as "wasted". But If you buy something that money isn't burned up and vanishes. It is used to pay the fireworks manufacturers and everyone involved in making it available to you. It is essentially a waste for the consumer, but everybody else in that transaction is profiting.
Living in a rural area and there aren't any public fireworks displays around here. I am a big fan of fireworks and the sight on top of the hill when there is fireworks in every small town around you to the horizon. I always hear about the many injured on TV or radio, but have never injured myself or know of anyone else who injured themselves using fireworks. But I guess it's a difference if you start fireworks in the center of a big city with hundreds and thoudsands of drunk people in the streets narrowed in by the buildings around...
You didn't mention polution and stress for wildlife and pets (or did I miss it - I'm sick and my attention span is close to zero). I am not sure on which side I am. I hate the noise but love the sparkling lights. I didn't buy or use any firework for at least 15 years. So I guess I can do without it. But then it is not always a good choice to ban things people love. Instead it would be better to change the way of thinking and make them less and less eager for it (however that's possible).
Agreed. I never set off firework myself, I really don't feel the desire to do so (though I admit, I do like to watch), but experience shows that slow cultural changes work better than outright bans.
I used to be one of these teenagers that used to buy crackers en masse and horded them and threw them around aggravating people so I know that, while banning them might be an intriguing idea, it wouldn't work.
I really hope they ban them, i hate the weeks prior to hearing them be set off, as well as weeks afterwards. It is total choas and makes me think Germany is not even civilized and are ignorant self asorbed people who care nothing about the tons of trash it produces, nor the welfare of their animals. There really needs to be a set place where is not forbiden the state does it. I have also been living in Germany over 15 years, so it is not like i just moved here and hated it.
Well, I don’t spend my money on fireworks but I‘m strictly against any ban; there are people who like it and are ready to pay. (I‘m from the Rhineland: „Mer moss och jönne könne.“)
The issue is in big cities ppl tend to throw them at emergency vehicles and police
Based.
Do you mean for private use or also for organised public displays? Here in Heidelberg three times per year we have the Schlossbeleuchtung which concludes with a firework display. I’d feel disappointed if it had to be cancelled.
Imagine how much more liver damage if said 180 m were spent on alkohol as well.
In Australia New Year's and similar "fireworks" holidays typically occur in peak bushfire season when total fire bans can be in place. So it's not really surprising most of the country has banned private firework sales in favour of professionally organised displays.
That’s the advantage we have in Germany with lighting fireworks on New Year’s Eve (the only legal date). It’s in winter, everything is wet and cold so fires aren’t that much of a problem.
If fireworks were only being fired around the hours of midnight on new years eve I could accept it. However as I'm sure many people living in larger German cities knows there's kids and teenagers running around on the street firing them whenever and wherever they want from the moment they start selling them. I found them being sold in Penny around my street yesterday, marketed directly to children with names like "junior box".
I have a dog with anxiety issues and trying to go out with her to let her do her business is absolute torture from the middle of december to the end of january. Furthermore these kids are literally firing them sideways on the street towards pedestrians and public transport. Last year I was almost hit by one while walking my dog! I'm sure her ears were ringing for a long time after from the loud explosion just a few meters away from us and she didn't dare go out for days after. She had to go on the floor.
I have never bought a firework and I never will. They should be banned from public sale and if they are sold should be at least licensed and enforced like the weapons they are.
> if they are sold should be at least licensed
Fireworks are licensed in Germany. Furthermore, you cannot buy these in public stores before 29.12. and after 31.12. Whatever you think "Penny" sells, thats not fireworks like crackers etc. Maybe kind of "Wunderkerzen". And crackers MUST not be sold to children anyway - but already that does not work, as you can see. It is simply not true that there is fireworks in the streets from "mid of december to the end of january". Sorry, but that is plain nonsense. Such exaggeration doesn't help with anything. Incidentally, there are also many people who are afraid to go for a walk outside all year round because they are afraid of dogs. Is that why we should ban dogs in Germany?
@@rhalleballe I don't know what they're selling in the stores as I've never bought them. I just know I was there yesterday and saw a display for "feuerwerk" with multiple boxes targeted towards children. The same children presumably that I see outside my apartment window throwing loud bangers and firing fireworks sideways for nearly two months of the year.
I would also like to meet these people who are actually afraid to go out because dogs exist because I never heard of such a person. I have noticed people being scared of dogs when taking mine for a walk and guess what, we or they go to the other side of the street and continue with our lives. This works because dogs are required by law to be leashed outside of specific areas and dogs that bite people are usually euthanised and the owner possibly prosecuted for assault. We are not bothering anyone by simply existing.
Regardless it's nonsense to compare someone being afraid of the idea of something and actually being a victim of someone doing something traumatic to you. I have no problem with trained people having a weapon for protection such as the police at airports for example, but that doesn't mean I think teenagers should be allowed to shoot them in the street for fun. Similarly the problem I have with fireworks isn't them being used sparingly by responsible people, it's the fact that they are largely being used irresponsibly by irresponsible people for weeks on end to the point where it has a huge negative impact on my life.
If it's permissible to sell it to kids, it's also legal to set it off any day of the year.
It's only the stuff 18+ that may not be sold but the last 3 workdays of the year and only may be utilized (without need of permission) on December 31th and January 1st. (Further, more strict regional regulations may apply.)
@@timpz"If fireworks would be only fired around midnight of new year's eve I could accept it."
So you basically state that you strongly oppose to actual German federal law??? 🤔🤔🤔🤔
§ 23 Abs. 2 Satz 2 1. SprengV clearly doesn't limit the hours on December 31st or January 1st. So federal government grants 48 hours of private fireworks.
More strict regional regulations may apply but not completely overrule the intentions of federal government.
Usually it's allowed past 18:00 or "after dark" on December 31st (which is reasonable for visual purposes). But limiting the usage till 1:00 am January 1st (though often found in city regulations) is difficult to enforce and impossible to be legally upheld. To avoid any adverse ruling of higher courts most cities don't even interfere before 3 or 4 am.
It's also logical. Since there is effectively no limit to the stock of fireworks one can build in the final days of the year, anything not fired up that night will eventually be let off illegally during the year.
@@timpzAdding to your horrendous legal ignorance:
If your dog forces another citizen to make a detour to avoid your dog you're actually very well interfering with other people's constitutional rights, it's just difficult to weigh in their rights CLEARLY enough over your rights to constitute an act of coercion.
The moment your dog yanks the leash while loud barking, you'll loose.
Furthermore if you approach other people (standing still while going about their own business or following an obvious preset path for legally conducting their businesses) with your dog you're legally bound to back off if asked to.
It's especially not required for the person your dog sniffs at to step away, but for you to have already prevented your dog from approaching other people.
For instance sniffer dogs at the customs won't be put into action without consent of the people to be searched. (They might have to face a strip-search as an alternative though.)
At point 2, I had to laugh out loud: Here where I live, we have a lot of Syrian refugees with war experience, and they spend an insane amount of money on fireworks every year.
Yes, here too. Usually, I like them a lot, but since they celebrate here too, our windows explode on New Year’s Eve.
That doesn't mean that fireworks are okay for all people with war experience
@@bobschneider5475 Nothing is okay for everyone. Are we going to ban everything?
@@bobschneider5475 Fireworks might be startling to people suffering from dementia also, even without war experience.
But there will be always someone startled by any kind of noise. Rhinos for example are so easily started that loud noises behind their back can make them freak out. Unfortunately this includes the noise of their own feces hitting resonating ground (metal sheets, wooden covers) so zoo's must plan their environment very carefully.
Eine eher geringfügige Verletzung in frühen Kindertagen hat mich gelehrt entsprechend vorsichtig mit Knall- und Sprengkörpern umzugehen.
Und weil ich die gleiche Sorgfalt auch bei Leuten in meinem Umfeld anwende, werde ich im Freundeskreis inzwischen als Silvester-Muffel angesehen. Aber das stört mich bedeutend weniger als ggf. einem Freund die Wunde abdrücken zu müssen, während der Rest der Gruppe nach seinem Daumen auf dem Boden sucht.
Vorsicht ist besser als Nachsicht 👍 mit Feuerwerk sollte man aufmerksam umgehen und immer aufpassen, gerade wenn Kinder da sind. Allerdings kann man mit nem legalen Böller keinen Finger absprengen, dafür braucht’s schon was stärkeres aus Polen oder so, und die sind ja aus gutem Grund verboten.
Daumen auf dem Boden suchen ist eigentlich nur möglich mit selbstgebasteltem oder illegal importiertem Feuerwerk. Im Handel ohne Feuerwerkerschein ist auch an Slyvester nur Kategorie F2 in den Läden zu erwerben, das getestet ist. Praktisch unmöglich den Daumen damit Abzusprengen, selbst wenn es bewusst zu diesem Zweck angewendet werden würde. Feuergefahr ist dagegen schon interessanter, persönlich angewohnt einen Eimer in der Nähe zu haben. Mag aber auch mehr das Lichtfeuerwerk mit Batterien, weniger die Böller und noch weniger die Heuler (Horror: Die 1000 Heuler Batterie).
Kauf nur legales Feuerwerk, dann musst Du auch keinen Daumen suchen.
The problem I see with a ban is, that people who relay want their fireworks would just buy it somewhere else. That would probably increase the problems with injuries and the like even more. Could play out a little like the Prohibition in the US.
I am not a big fan of fireworks myself, but I find the situation isn't dire enough to constitute a law. In order for the state to say "you may not do that", there should be some serious arguments behind it and those are lacking. Especially the risk of self injury and the price aren't argument enough to call for a ban. People have the right to blow their hands off and they have the right to burn their money. literally too. the issue is injuring others and there aren't enough cases of that to justify a total ban. other measures like info campaigns are better solutions
Agree👍
It can also be added that it’s simply impossible to loose fingers or more when handling legal firecrackers. Even if they explode in one’s hand there would only be burns due to the strict regulations on the amount and kind of explosive used (max 6g of black powder). Such severe injuries can only be caused by illegal fireworks or serious misuse of legal ones, like holding on to the top of a lit rocket until it explodes. But that can hardly be the fault of the fireworks.
A change in any regard means to replace the thing with another. Is there any effective replacement for fireworks.?
whenever there is a way to use something responsibly, one shouldn't impose a ban. whenever the usage isn't easily understood by the user, disallow usage by those or introduce a system where you can acquire a license. due to its noise and air polluting aspects, general use of fireworks should only be allowed a couple of times a year.
fireworks don't burn money, money is usually like energy, it doesn't get destroyed, just transfered to someone else
As a German who has lived in the UK for a decade now (2 years in England, 8 in Scotland), I'm sorry to report that your childhood experience is indeed out of date. Tons of people here let off fireworks in the streets for Guy Fawkes Night *and* New Years now - it's no different to what I had been used to growing up in Germany. This was both 8-10 years ago in England and since then in Scotland. Yes, there's still the annual cycle of TV reporting on the dangers of fireworks, but then again I also experienced that in Germany to about the same extent; WDR Lokalzeit would always do a piece on the ambulance services preparing for New Years and interview some people injured by fireworks the previous year.
In Germany, the new year fireworks emit thousands of tons of particulate matter. Reducing the amount of fireworks would benefit the environment and human health.
it benefits the mental health to be outside and celebrate with friends and familly...
I wonder how we have survived all those years... maybe because it's not all that bad huh ?
I would just say it like this: If people weren't allowed to buy or light fireworks, it wouldn't be that hard to find people who illegally bought/imported them. Since every detonation or light flash would be a crime
You recognize that you would need to catch people in the act. The moment you go for the flash it's over. So how to attribute the remainder to a bystander? Video surveillance on private grounds is also inacceptable in court, so that would be a proof that may not be used...
True, but how to get hold of the offender ? I do not think anybody is going to wait until the police arrives.
Apparently it is pretty difficult for the police to catch people who just buy this stuff from poland and set it off far away from the allowed time. As proven in the years in which fireworks were restricted because of Corona, and there were STILL injuries. I rather have people fire the legal stuff. Meanwhile you can work on a cultural change.
Exactly right, Hendricus!
I currently live in a U.S. state where setting off private 🎆 were illegal, although you could still buy them (for export to other states.) But despite the easy availability, you’d see virtually no-one violating the ban. Because violators would literally highlight their crimes with huge lights and sounds!
A few years ago, private 🎆 became legal, but (supposedly) tightly regulated. E.g., you’re not allowed to set them off on public property (incl. streets and sidewalks) or on private property within 50 ft of buildings. Theoretically, this means a de facto ban in densely populated neighborhoods. But enforcement became impossible, because now you can never tell from a distance if perhaps someone fired off those rockets from a really deep backyard.
tl;dr Blanket bans can be enforced MUCH more easily than any sort of regulated approach.
You underestimate just how that works. People buy sometimes hundreds of euros worth of fireworks and the streets are just full of everyone blasting rockets into the air. The most remote towns are filled with fireworks. The number of people who would stockpile while they were still legal or just buy them from Poland is quite large. You could never catch them. You can only regulate what is legal.
Each and every year, shortly before Christmas, there is a survey asking the germans if fireworks should be banned for private households. And every year, the majority says that it should. There are countless arguments for banning at least the sale (which worked very well during the pandemic, btw.) and the only counter arguments boil down to "but it's fun/tradition!".
In the US, laws about fireworks vary from state to state, and my state (Minnesota) is pretty restrictive in the fireworks that are available for personal use, however, the vast majority of Minnesotans live very close to Wisconsin, which has much laxer rules, so everyone just goes there to get cooler fireworks
You forgot to mention, that our whole fauna literally gets scared to death every new years eve.
My body, my fireworks. 🎆 🧨 🎇 🧨 🎆
My Body, My Choice Absolutist! 🤣🤣🤣
Sometimes I seriously wonder if the so-called 'prohibitors' were ever young. Fireworks are something I have actively enjoyed since my youth. In fact, I even trained as a pyrotechnician in the 90s. And yes, fireworks can be dangerous if mishandled. But so are cars with 250 horsepower, and no one is banning them. And yes, some people need to feel pain for their stupidity. But how many people enjoy fireworks and nothing happens... at all. Polish firecrackers and the like have no place on the streets, or homemade stuff, I think we don’t need to discuss that. And yes, idiots are a worldwide problem. Fireworks, weapons, overpowered cars, football fans turning a stadium into a battlefield, and yes, careless people. So let's just leave it as it is. The sales of fireworks are already declining each year due to the prices. That's okay, a ban is really not necessary. Ah and a note to all commenters "we need public fireworks". There are not nearly enough professional pyrotechnicians for that. Maintaining a fireworks business is quite a hassle. So, the idea of putting fireworks in professional hands in every town can be confidently forgotten. Apart from that, there's certainly no money available in the municipal budget for it.
A ban would probably work as well as it does in those American municipalities that have tried it. IOW, not at all. Prohibitions never work. People will always find a way to obtain & use the banned products.
And rebellious youths will want that shit even more if you ban it! 🤣🤣🤣
I´d favour a ban on citizens buying fireworks, not because of the danger, but because I think we could benifit socialy from having only publicly organized fireworks. I mean I always lived in bigger cities and new years eve is pretty much the only festivity, where you encounter your local community. There are not many public events like the guy-fawkes-thingy or new years and I dont think we should decentralize them into a bunch of private festivities.
If you have one big firework in the middle of town instead of thousands of small ones in each backyard, then more people would come together. Its simple as that.
You can still have your private new years party, but at least the public ones would have something unique.
and besides that: big public fireworks are much cooler than fireing a handfull small rockets in your backyard.^^
Banning consumer fireworks for new year's eve in Germany will not improve anything. Consumer fireworks were banned from being sold and delivered to normal customers for new year's eve 2020 and 2021. This caused a massive increase of imported fireworks, mostly from Poland. These fireworks may be illegal to purchase, posess or use without special authorization and training in Germany. These fireworks are mostly responsible for the serious injuries mentioned by rewboss. Peoply may also just build their own fireworks which may not only be life-threatning for them, but everyone living under the same roof.
Fireworks which are legal to buy and use during new years eve are categorized as "F2". They have strict safety and noise regulations which need to be followed to being sold legally in Germany. For instance, a firecracker in this category must never be strong enough to seriously injure a human hand, even if it explodes while being held tightly.
Legal fireworks are only permitted to emit a maximum noise level of 120dBA in a distance of eight meters from the firework.
Also fireworks are banned in the vicinity of retirment homes, hospitals, children's homes and all buildings which are of higher risk of catching fire.
Additionally, every city can designate firework ban-zones (Feuerwerksverbotszone / Feuerwerksschutzzone / Böllerverbotszone) and zones where fireworks which only emit a report are banned (Böllerverbotszone).
I agree that the media should direct their attention away from trying to ban fireworks towards educating people on how to use fireworks correctly and safely. Also they should point out the importance of staying sober while handling fireworks. Nearly all firework accidents are caused by people under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Attacks on police and rescue workers must be punished more severly. The attacks on police and rescue workers during new year's eve riots in Berlin 2022 did not yield any serious punishments as far as I could find out.
I can relate to people having problem dealing with fireworks. I have noice phobie of sudden, loud noises. Even if this phobia can be managed by systematic desensitization and therapy, I do empathize with people having this problem. Therefore it is important that people will only light fireworks at times and places where they are permitted. Also people lighting fireworks should be considerate of those who are struggeling this phobia and PTSD.
Everyone is free to choose wheather to celebrate new year's eve with fireworks or not; wheather to watch a professtional fireworks display or make their own fireworks. In a free society there should be room for both possibilities.
PTSD can come from many different things. Nobody is planning to ban sex scenes in movies because people have ptsd in regard to sex. It is once a year.
So many people in this comment section talk about banning fireworks because animals are scared.
Have we ever considered banning animals? Some people who have been attacked by a dog, a cow, a sheep, etc. do have genuine PTSD.
@@martinc.720 Also the number of animals suffering from abuse by their owners is propably way larger than the number of animals suffering from fireworks.
@@dirtyhenri5005 Just ban all pets in the first place..why do you need a cat or dog .it's also bad for the environment
I live in Nashville, Tennessee where we have a permanent ban on individuals using fireworks. However, come the Fourth of July (American Independence Day) or New Year's Eve, one would never know it. Fireworks exploding all over the place. Yet we still have public fireworks run by the city during the evenings of both occasions. The big issue here is that all the neighboring cities around Nashville do not ban fireworks. So it's very easy to travel a short distance to the next town to load up on firework supplies and bring them back to Nashville. So to me it doesn't seem to matter if there are bans or not - people will do what they want to do with fireworks regardless of whether it's allowed or banned.
when one city bans it, it cant be enforced, because you could buy it the next city over. but imagine it was banned all over the country...
Property damage, injuries and deaths, terrified people and animals, high cost, trash and pollution.. what’s not to love? I’m ok with city firework shows but private citizen purchases/usage, no.
You missed out the main argument against fireworks - the damage and disruption to wildlife and animals.
For what I can say: I think there's a middle-way between banning them completely and letting everyone go wild. I'm currently in south america and here the fireworks can only be done by licensed people. That means that the people in the neighbourhood will throw money into a pot and hire someone collectively instead of buying the fireworks individually in a supermarket as it's usual in germany. This guy then comes and does his firework show for the 10-20 houses that hired him. I think this is a great way to increase safety and furthermore this provides opportunity to come together. It's like every street or block is having it's own little event. Not so seperated like in germany. I remember my last few new years eves being just gathering with 3-5 friends, drinking some beers and firing a few rockets into the air. At most, I talked a few words with my neighbours from the same house when we all went outside for those 30 minutes of fireworks. But that's kinda it. The way it's done here seems way more inviting and "communal" to me.
Officially, the time to fire fireworks is from midnight to 10 minutes past midnight. So a 10 minute window. When I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s thats pretty much what people did in the village. Usually like a minute before midnight the first fireworks started and 10 minutes later it was all over. People shot all their stuff.
The issue nowadays is that people constantly fire them the entire day already and the closer the evening gets the more frequent the fireworks. Last year I timed it and by 6pm there was already a firework around every 10 to 15 minutes. Mind you a village with maybe 800 people in it. Seems to me people buy way more than they can fire in 10 minutes.
We have a dog which is very stressed out by fireworks and other loud noises, she's shaking and breathing heavily for basically an entire day - thats heartbraking to watch and nothing can be done since there is no escape.
Also many other animals aren't exactly fine with those noises either especially that frequently and for hours and hours - many farmers can tell you that the animals aren't behaving normally or getting very unsettled.
If it was just 10 minutes and done and over with that all wouldn't be much of a problem.
I'm not in favour of banning it though I wouldn't mind either.. But something should be done to make sure fireworks aren't constantly fired the entire day or even days before. Not sure how to fix this though.. can't really give out fines or something its impossible to locate who fired a firework. Maybe just make the stuff way more expensive so people spare it until its time lol.
Or maybe a lot more public service announcements / ad campaining especially regarding the timing and animals.. I suspekt most people don't want to stress animals that way but never even think about it - tbh I never thought about that either back in the day.
Please expand on your ill-informed usage of "officially" since federal law allows it actually officially since at least December 1st 1977 for 48 hours (00:00 December 31st to 24:00 January 1st).
Though regional more restrictive regulations were put into effect later those mostly permit starting "after dark"/18:00 till at least 1 a.m. Whilst 18:00 or after dark already have been ruled being reasonable and thus legal concisions the end time hasn't yet gained that sound legal foundation in court.
No good idea. Some people who dont want to let go off fireworks would probably just get some very unsafe and dangerous ones from poland or some other country. I think keeping the german ones is the best solution
No ban 👌
Hear, hear!
given the readiness of people burning money for this kind of 'fun' and possible outcry if fireworks got banned, the best way of dissuading at least some citizens from this madness while avoiding an outright ban is to impose some financial penalty or tax on the sale of fireworks. this tax should go to local governments to offset some of the cost they have in cleaning their cities from the rubbish left after New Years eve.
insurance companies could exclude damages/injuries from fireworks from their coverage or demand a premium.
Not everyone is as broke as you. For some 500$ for fireworks is like 5$ coffee for you.
4:35: Even with the biggest legal "Böller" you can buy in Germany aren't actually capable of ripping off fingers or limbs. They are only small charges filled with almost exclusively black powder. As long as you don't temper with them or buy illegal ones in Poland for example made with metal powders and stronger oxidizers, and use them as intended, there isn't much that can happen outside of burns. Accidents of cause still happen. But nobody bans the ownership of dogs, just because some people get bitten. In the EU and especially Germany so many things are already banned and restricted to the point it's abbsolutly ridiculous. Please let us have a fun time for one god damn night.
Yeah, we are a country full of regulations, with in another state (the EU) filled with even more regulations. I personally hate that.
@@xenogen Yeah, me too. Every year it gets harder to be a hobby chemist(unrelated to the whole fireworks thing). It’s absolutely frustrating and ridiculous..
Being weak and bleak is the main issue I have with fireworks in Germany after spending childhood in Russia. Surely you can do better than a puff of smoke and some sparks
I mean that hardly is an argument. Yes most legal fireworks do not cause serious harm, but even non serious harm needs to be treated. And surprise hospital and fireworks personel needs to work overtime on holidays, which i think we agree should also exist to let them enjoy these holidays and not spend their holidays working. And besides illegal fireworks are a thing. There are reports on every new year of people buying the illegal ones and causing serious damage.
The example with dogs is also comparing apples to oranges. And besides there is an extra tax for dogs and special permits are needed for particularly aggressive dog breeds so even there is regulation.
I think it is. If you ban fireworks, people buy more of the illegal ones, thus way more harm is on the way. And for the dogs: 2015 alone there were about 25-30k dog bites. Every year about 8k are harmed by fireworks. And almost nobody says that fireworks should be sold all year around. So dogs would be a bigger threat. Plus taxes and permits don't make shitty dog owners less shitty. It's just a small hurdle. But with this line of thinking alcohol, tobacco, sky diving, bungee jumping, free climbing, wood working, chemistry and all other hobbies and vices should be forbidden. Just ban everything because some people hurt/kill themselves having fun. That's not a society I want to live in.
By all means, punish those that assault others with fireworks. But don't ruin it for the rest. Living is not a safe thing and making it as safe as possible is nothing more than stripping away any resemblance of freedom.
We mostly contain fireworks to maybe 24h. And as a society we can handle that and we should. And for the people doing their jobs: If you don't like working on holidays, maybe in the next life you should get a job where this is given. @@Phazonis
My dog is scared to go outside in the dark for 2 months because of them
Then of course it's understandable that the whole of Germany is not allowed to have fireworks just because you can't manage to put ear protection on your dog for half an hour and perhaps take him to a secluded room. Of course, it's easier to ban 83 million people from enjoying fireworks. It would be best to ban thunderstorms at the same time, because it is also known that some dogs develop a terrible fear and no longer dare to go outside.
@@rhalleballe Don't forget to make it illegal to slam a door!
@@rhalleballe The problem is not the hour between 0-1. Not even the whole night. It is that people use them from the day they appear in the shops till the end of January.
@@burgerpommes2001 Nonsense. Fireworks may be sold from 29.12 - 31.12. and used on 31.12. only. And in very rare cases, teenager use them one or two days before silvester (even that not in my city). And after 1.1. there is nothing. I have never seen people with firework in january. I am over 60 years old, have lived in several cities and never ever seen firework "till the and of january". You are dreaming.
@@rhalleballe Vieleicht ist die Münchner Jugend nicht der Durchschnitt, ich träume aber sicher nicht.
I’m from the uk - I’d be happy with organised displays. With the exception of sparklers, I’ve never lit a firework and don’t much want to.
I personally would argue for a partial ban:
No: Explosive fireworks, like sticks (col. "Böller"), etc.
Yes: Rockets, fire fountains, sparklers of all sizes
IMHO the explosives are the leading cause of issues. Not to say, that the other kind is saver by default, but it does seem so.
I'm from Nebraska and, while I hear fireworks on New Year's Eve, there are way more fireworks on July 4th. I don't think I've ever spent more than $30 a year on fireworks though.
Here in the UK the letting off of fireworks is almost a 12 months event. First you have the Hindus making noise with them on and during weddings and that can happen until 1 or even 2 o'clock in the morning.
Then you have the Guy Fawkes celebrations. The local Rugby Club organises every year a big firework on the first Saturday after 5th of November. A couple of public schools hold firework events on the Friday and then, of course, you have the householders doing their bit in the garden for the family.
This year, 2023, was a bit quieter but the Brits nowadays do celebrate New Year with fireworks as well
Regarding Guy Fawkes night in the UK 🇬🇧,
It wasn't until 3/4 years ago that certain local councils in rural areas of the UK that repealed the law that allowed the people in the towns to burn catholics aluve in the bonfire, And you've probably guessed those areas all coted to leave the EU in the referendum in 2016.
There are no professional firework shows? That's disappointing, I'll definitely miss that.
There are, in cities anyway :)
There was a survey from YouGov about that topic. The majority of germans does not want private fireworks.
Interesting to see here:
People in west germany reject it more than from east germany.
Men would still like to have private fireworks more than women.
The only relevant political party, whose supporters majorly want private fireworks, is the AFD.
The green party is the strongest rejecting private fireworks, most likely because it is also a disturbance to animals and a serious air pollution.
Age and income does not seem to influence the opinion very much.
I love it do light my own fireworks. But they don't need to be loud for me (but total silent would be also boring). And I love it to go on the street and watch in any direction and view all the nice fireworks. I never had any injuries or dangerous moments, not on me, and not on any family member.
I spend usually 50-100€ for Firework, and it is fun. I would compare it like going to a concert.
I also had a cat for a long time and the firework at the Silvester night was never an issue with her, I just made her a comfortable room complete dark and a little bit of music. So she didn't was afraid. As older she got, the more relaxed she was anyways. A problem was only with those people who came to early, like starting the firework on Christmas, or even in the summer. As nothing was prepared, and my cat was sometimes at that moment outside, and got scared. Especially if those people used illegal one from Poland.
I have never the feeling of a battlefield on Silvester, I do a walk quite often around the streets in that night to enjoy the firework. I know the battlefield look only from TV in Berlin, maybe it is a problem of big Citys, I live in a small town.
I think we have already a good compromise in favor of those who don't like Firework. It is forbidden on 364 days a year, and only allowed on one day. Everyone can plan with that, and those who love firework have at least one day of fun.
How about forbidding alcohol? No one needs Alkohol, and people only do stupid things with Alkohol ;-)
Why wasn't the huge impact of all the trash lying around everywhere for weeks after new year mentioned?
I'd like to see private fireworks banned as a first step and only allowing a certain number of professional fireworks. Then I'm sure there will be a rise of alternatives, such as drone light shows, which look really just as impressive, I'd say. And when these alternative shows are established you could reduce the fireworks step by step.
Many illegal firecrackers are imported from other Eastern European countries; there is even a word for it in German: Polenböller.
A sales stop and ownership ban would, however, lead to greater demand for Polenböller(s).
As with any migrants and with hashish imports from the Netherlands, the state has options to take action against smuggling on the German eastern border.
I've always found that word (very mildly) annoying considering that Poland does not have that much less strict laws about fireworks than Germany. Most of the in-demand "Polenböller" are as illegal across the Oder as they are here. Unfortunately, it seems falsified safety certificates are a plague that Polish Law Enforcement agencies are unable to deal with adequately.
Most of the in-demand "Polenböller" -> ALL, they are not certified to use in germany. So if it have a BAM certification, you can buy it also in Poland. But then you can buy it germany. It's the same stuff. If no BAM oder similar certification it's a criminal offense under the Explosives Act. According to § 40 of the Explosives Act, be punished with a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years.
This was a very cherished part of my childhood.
Here in HAnnover, there have been certain areas where fireworks are generally banned now (inner city for example) while they are legal in most areas still
I think thats a good compromise
Leave the laws as they are. Perhaps a slow and soft campaign for use of approved fireworks, safe use age of fireworks. Maybe show cats, dogs and other animals frightened by fireworks. Maybe add fireworks by the municipalities, make them a communal experience. Keep the limited bans for historic parts of the cities that might be endangered by accidental or misused fireworks.
Go for a slow and most importantly voluntary reduction.
I can enjoy the colourful ones. I don't like the noisy ones. I remember a Chinese new year in Manchester (UK) and it was so beautiful without the constant and loud bangs. Loved it.
I'm also concerned about pets and wildlife in general.
First and foremost: I LOVE to watch fireworks. BUT ---
I'd be totally fine with professional fireworkers in each town, making a spectacular firerworks-light-show (which might include laser beams and drones). I never spent a penny on fireworks, never fired one myself and would not miss the private firerworks frenzy. Especially since I got hit by one at the age of 17 or 18. I was not injured heavily by that, it just caused a big haematoma at my back where it hit me and burned the jacket I was wearing that day. But the shock still sits deep. I mean, if people take the risk to injure only themselves.... okay! But this is not the case, they can hurt others when using the stuff in an unreliable way. And what I hear from the bigger cities, those riots in the "Fussgängerzonen" are really not very funny, but dangerous for all who are out just to party with friends and have fun. And that is the reason why I would be fine if private fireworks got banned. (Another point to mention is the pollution with Feinstaub!)
Indeed, in the big cities it shouldn't be a problem organizing some display. For smaller towns and villages, maybe the municipalities could try to discourage buying private fireworks (e.g. only allowing specific places/times to sell them?) and instead organize an official fireworks display with Glühwein stands and stuff like that. I grew up in a small village, and for me it wouldn't have really mattered if I raised my glass with my neighbour at our houses or on the town square.
For the last 20 years I was out of bigger cities for the year change, so I didn't witness the crazyness. This year we'll be at home (on the outskirts of Berlin), let's see (or rather hear) how loud it's going to be here.
I was raised in 2000-2010s UK, and yeah, most of your information about firewrok safety still holds, even if we aren't told to not use a match-stick to read the instructiond (we all have phones now)
With regards to the money argument, even people that do agree that it could be better spent on someone else don't agree on what that something else should be, so how do you decide?
Only poor people find money arguments :)
@@timprex317 You say that like it's a bad thing!
Fireworks can be fun and I doubt a total ban would be enforcable, but i wish there was more of a development towards communal fireworks. It would take place in a certain timeframe and be over then, as well as save a huge amount of CO2 compared to everyone firing their own stuff. Also not as much trash to clean up afterwards.
Public fireworks displays might have been free 20 years ago; mostly not so now - about £20
In general: NO, Fireworks are a fun and beautiful part of our culture that would be sorely missed if completely banned.
BUT... a restriction for fireworks above a certain noise level (shriek while flying up and/or KABOOM when blowing up being loud enough to hurt ones ears standing a street away from it)?
Yes, I could definitely get behind that.
The riots in Berlin and some other cities are usually not connected with the fireworks legal in Germany. I have seen a lot of videos of this riots and most people use firecackers banned here or even "Vogelschreck" which is categorized as ammunition in Germany and is banned by german gun laws.
Migration is the elephant in the room
As someone who loves fireworks, in the last few years the approach of my absolute favourite day of the year comes with the horrible taste of stress from people that demonize my hobby and me along with it. alot of people seem to get hung up with arguments that make perfect sense on the surface but when you look closer could never legitimise a complete ban. those opinions seem to get lounder over the years and with that the more upset the people get which love fireworks. sadly alot of them react with being reckless with fireworks, especially the things that happen in berlin make my heart bleed and make it even harder for me to represent fireworks as a legitimate hobby. I think a ban would lead to alot of illegal import of dangerous fireworks. We need more education on how to safely handle fireworks and a culture around it. for example I've built my own stand where I can safely fire 8 rockets from while most germans still use bottles or their hands to fire them and I've made a securing device for small cake fireworks while last year my box of fireworks got bombarded from two sides by cakes that have fallen over because they were put on a grass surface. something has to change, but a complete ban is one of the worst options
I never understood that we are allowed to handle fireworks and no one ever cares whether we able to handle them... 🤷♀️
Consuming alcohol and handling explosive substances... what could possibly go wrong with that combination?
I am personally strongly in favour of a ban for private fireworks use. Between the noise, the impact on people with PTSD or other mental health issues, the impact on wild and domesticated animals, the pollution and trash everywhere and of course the injury risks the trade-off just doesn't seem worth it. Especially considering personal fireworks are quite boring compared to professional fireworks shows. All those uncoordinated explosions around the start of the new year really don't add anything, much like each of your neighbours producing random sounds from a random musical instrument doesn't make an orchestral performance.
Absolute ban. Fireworks are stupid and dangerous.
This video also perfectly explains the situation in the Netherlands, where fireworks are also often used on New Year’s Eve.
My biggest problem with fireworks is the burden they cause to pets, especially dogs.
@@joasjansen7405 ever thought about travelling with your pets to avoid fireworks?
wait only 180 million € ? That little? That's less than 3€ per capita.
well, here in the "south-western countryside", where the border to france is, it's no big thing to get fireworks or "burn them down". the french aren't allowed, and try to "smuggle" fireworks over the border - where they directly get in touch with the "gendarmerie", a specified group of police in france - and they stop the "smuggling", 'cause every french car is "looked through". i mean, it's a thing, 'cause several french had "burned cars" etc with fireworks down - and that's also a problem. here, on the German site, it doesn't happen - and even injuries are not often happening, but they can - especially when people throw fireworks in a wrong direction, like in front of other people or - what i've even had seen - into a bag of other fireworks, who "burned then down". would we "ban" these, the only thing were "gas pistols" - 'cause you can claim such for your own safety, and it give even "shooting stars" for these... and also people can be "stupid as heck to use them" - like i had seen one time, and had brought that person to the ER - 'cause they had the hand in the pistol, as it had fired, and pinched the skin between the fingers. all situations mostly happens when one ting had happened: "to much alcohol", and then the people got stupid... had seen that several times. but would i ban then fireworks? only in big citys like berlin etc. - 'cause they "get then into a war-zone", where even Firemen or paramedics get attacked with fireworks. but there, where the people are responsible - it should be allowed; and when "not wanted", then restricted to a specific "weight of firework" for every person, like 1kg / person, and that might be then good (even 1kg is to much for some). Like i said, the biggest problem zones are the bigger citys - 'cause new years even is then literally a "war zone" (had gone that one time - and i will never do that again, that's for sure)... as i experienced that, a friend of me got "shot with a rocket on the knee" - all i could think was "get that person ASAP in safety, and forget the rest of the fireworks". so, a ban would be "perfect" for bigger citys - with even control starting at christmas for "illegal" crackers from poland, who aren't allowed here. these are these, who can even kill people.
Higherworks works for me! Thanks for inventing this word.
Fireworks for New Year seems pretty common in the UK as well as at many other random times of the year (I left in 2019), though perhaps not quite as crazy as Germany. It seems to me that buying the things should require some kind of permit; maybe not one that's particularly hard to get but enough to put off drunken idiots. Plus - bureaucracy and Germany loves that. As a teenager in the 80s the neighbours would get together and close off the end of the street and have one big party, which was not only safer but meant better and more fireworks. That's the positive side and shouldn't change; kids firing rockets at cars (as has happened to me in the UK) is not so good.
You're Irish? Germans usually ain't drunk while ACQUIRING the fireworks, and also won't be while ACQUIRING the permit ... 🤣
Only changes i would make:
1.Educate the people on the contra AND pro arguments
2.Educate the people how to use firework properly
3.Ban fireworks in regions that have attracted negative attention in the past
4. send police in districts with a lot of poor people with migration background to prevent violance
@@ravanpee1325 Real
That's not so bad. In Jackson, Ms. Citizens would come to downtown Jackson on New Year's Eve and shoot fireworks at eachother, either side of the street shooting mostly bottlerockets and throwing firecrackers at eachother. The Jackson city government finally ended the celebration after two years of these mock battles. And a general band of fireworks within the city limits a couple years later. AHHHHHH! The 1980's a simpler time.
they banned outside drinking and inside smoking in britain and czechia (2 countries where I has experience with). in general it works. but in both there are many places where you can still smoke inside (legaly, semilegaly and ilegaly as well) and the streets of glasgow ten years ago was always full of shattered bottles at saturday mornings. what I want to say banning is always bad solution. hopefully education and some restriction can help.
(i am from czechia and situation here is obviously very similar to one in deutchland)
I don't like fireworks all that much. Haven't bought or lit any in over a decade easily now, closer to 2. I wish the general public would at least severly reduce their use of private fireworks and rather attend official shows.
But that has to be their own choice, so I'm against a ban; in fact, I would pick proper education over bans in almost any case in general.
I am a educate and regulate advocate.
In my area which is pretty bourgeois to be honest
we still have over an hour of fireworks going off
and it is LOUD
My partner who has Alzheimer's gets quite frightened
because he doesn't know what is going on.
The argument about money really holds no water at all. By that logic, literally any leisure activity would have to be banned, because the money would be better spent on important causes!
As a piano teacher, yes, because I lose about 600-1000 potential customers through hand injuries Germany wide each year. Sorry for the sarcasm. I don’t think the yearly damage worth the fun.
Though I understand that people yearn for the straw of personal freedom, as more and more activities, words and views are considered immoral in a more and more rigid society.
Me personally I would love a ban because I hate the noise, but this is a personal preference and not a political viewpoint.
Interesting question
0:01 YES
From what I've heard children, teens and young adults feel more stressed than a few decades ago. I wouldn't want to take away yet more fun from them, even if it's just for one day. But I'm open for replacing fireworks by a day at Disney World or a bouncy castle park :-)
Argument #2: we have no speed limits on our Autobahn yet have less traffic deaths than most neighboring countries. In other words: we're responsible even when we're being silly 😁. This may sound like (or may be) an idiotic argument but I've heard on other expat channels that German kids learn how to handle small amounts of danger safely while in countries like the US they aren't allowed to do that. And in other countries they don't learn how to deal with it safely 😋.
no.
I would lean towards a ban,
but at first I would encourage ways to increase the general safety.
As a kid I loved fireworks, the problem was always the days after the Christmas break when idiots at the bus stop would throw fireworks into the crowds of people waiting for the bus.
Or polish fireworks which are way more powerful than german fireworks.
As with most things it only takes a few idiots to spoil the fun for everyone
I would be happy about a ban. In todays age we have way better technology for looking at pretty lights, along with the arguments you mentioned i can think of some more arguments for a ban: It creates a lot of air pollution, the smoke of the fireworks is toxic and can make people sick, people with bad intentions get easy access to dangerous materials, many people don't tidy up after themselves and everything is dirty after the fireworks, and a lot of tax money is probably beeing used to clean that up, People who need to work on the next day don't get proper sleep and of course animals get scared too.
I think that the best approach would be to ban them from cities or places with high density but leave them to be legal in more rural areas. That way, it minimises the risk of causing hurt or damage to others or public property, while allowing those who wish to continue setting off fireworks to travel to the countryside or some area with no houses to continue enjoying fireworks.
Yes
I would love to see a firework organized by my city. The fireworks that people nowadays burn on the street are barely visible to anyone but themselves due to the heavy smoke/dust filling the streets rapidly. It's not a community event, but everyones personal business, which is a real shame. We all could benefit from doing things together, instead of everybody on their own.
I am all for banning private fireworks completely, but allowing professional ones on special occasions, eg on New Years Eve, if a City or town decides to organise one. I know that some folks might miss the personal thrill that goes with using private fireworks, but still…
I know not one or two, but several people who, (mostly as young men) lost fingers, a hand and in one case eyesight on one eye from experimenting with fireworks. I’d just ban selling that stuff to private persons completely.
So how would banning fireworks help preventing people from losing their fingers? You don't lose your finger by lighting legal fireworks in Germany. Banning would propably just increase the number of people using illegales firework, which is actually capable of doing exactly that.
@@dirtyhenri5005
I think that if you are drunk and not careful, legal fireworks might also be a problem.
Anyway, I was thinking more along the lines of: Lighting any sorts of fireworks (legal and illegal) might be forbidden, now also on New Year's Eve.
But I guess you are right. If there are none to be available in stores anymore, the people in question might just resort to building the fireworks themselves. (And that would be counterproductive for preventing lost fingers.)
Maybe it could help (to reduce accidents) to ban fireworksfrom certain zones where there are traditionally many (and many drunk) ppl on Christmas Eve.
@@marge2548 Fireworks is basically already banned from being used in crowded places due to the mandatory safety distances. Police usually just doesn't care.
@@dirtyhenri5005 Ok, I see - so we do have the law already. But enforcement is the problem?
I prefer a ban, since there are so many people who don't use it responsible. The brother of a friend in my neighborhood drives every year to the Chech Republic and spends there about 1000€ to get fireworks much harder than the one available in Germany. When I see the area where they use the fireworks the next day, it looks like a battlefield. In general when I walk around in Munich the next day, everywhere is the waste from the fireworks. Not to mention the air quality when I ride home on my bike between 1-2 a.m. at January 1st.
Maybe we ban first the young criminal men with migration background who do this shit before we ban the firework?
There is already a ban. New Years Eve is just an exeption to an existing general ban. We can enforce that ban on normal days, we could enforce it on New Years Eve after some years when people try to stick to old traditions. It's not that hard to find a person setting of something very loud and clearly visible, is it?
Plus there are two major aguments for a ban that you did not mentoin (yes you said the video is too short for every argument, but I think those are very important): Fireworks are very, very bad for the environment and they are very, very bad for animals, including pets. I remember the dog we had on New Years Eve: Covering in some corner of the house and shaking in fear.
I think you are right, though: It would be wise to encourage public, professional fireworks instead of privately tossing around dangerous stuff. Often while drunk.
People are increasingly getting irresponsible handling these things, and in an even remotely crowded area you can't avoid these idiots. Therefore I think in cities professional firework displays would be more enjoyable for everyone, anything dangerous should be banned there. Also limit how many can be sold per region.
I think for some people it's not enough to decide for themselves to not buy fireworks - they wanna see the restrictions being put on others as well and any kind of argument that helps them achieve that will be blown out of proportion. It's once a year. People who spend a lot on fireworks do so on their own terms. Would anyone seriously demand their spendings being monitored and regulated throughout the year? Fireworks are not just fun, they do still fullfill one of their very original purposes: closure for the old year - blow up some of the ghosts and celebrate the new year - set a confident and positive mood.
I don't condone stupid people lighting fireworks in crowds ofc, but I don't think banning the thing altogether is a fair solution.
Counter argument: stop banning things and let people do what they want. Nobody forces you to buy and use fireworks, dont want it? Dont do it. And let others do what they like just how you get to do what you like.
But other people's fireworks still affect me negatively. They rob me of my sleep, terrify my cats, fill the air with smelly smoke, put my house in danger, and expose me to the risk of serious injury.
It's not possible to give everyone everything they want all of the time: my rights may infringe on your rights, and vice versa. Everyone needs to make compromises, but the trick is to find a middle ground where as many people as possible can live with the compromises they're asked to make. Drawing the line at one extreme or other other isn't the answer.