bottom line is we all have a duty of care towards the public, ourselves, employees etc etc, The health and safety topics always get blown out of proportion and some on here get quite spiteful towards others for daring to mention it, bottom line is to minimise risk is it not..? most of the rules that are being implied do seem to be born out of common sense, I see window cleaners quite often taking undue risks on a weekly basis but to say it will never happen to me is no grounds or evidence not to enhance your skills by working in a safer more controlled environment, a big debate on cordoning off, sometimes almost impossible to do but you can create more of a natural lanyard by working out of hours, shop fronts,we tend to use a trolley rather than trail a hose across paths often dropping the pole down if a member of the public appears, puts more time on the job I know.! getting on and off flat roofs is a big concern and I think a no no especially if you employ, it's easier than you think to mis step onto the ladder and you are usually carrying equipment the same time, the sooner that someone comes up with a flat roof clamping idea the better, even then if I had an employee going up a clamped ladder they would still need a harness and a rope grab to minimise the risk, poles being dropped, the greater the height then the greater the momentum coming down, i think it is a controllable risk upto 2nd storey but anything can happen to anyone at any time so to completely eradicate risk to others then condoning off if you can is the safest thing to do, remember most of this is a grey area until you actually have the accident and it's the mindset of some which is the biggest risk of all..!
graham