0:00:02 > 0:00:06Everyday life can be surprisingly perilous.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Slips and trips...
0:00:09 > 0:00:11..bangs and crashes...
0:00:11 > 0:00:15splashes and sparks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19But what are the most dangerous things we do,
0:00:19 > 0:00:24and why are our lives so prone to catastrophe?
0:00:25 > 0:00:28To find out, we've enlisted experts and scientists
0:00:28 > 0:00:33who dedicate their lives to protecting us from daily disaster.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36This sort of thing is potentially very, very dangerous.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40We'll see what, if anything, we can do to protect ourselves.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43This would be good for a relatively soft surface,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46where you actually sink into it, something like mud.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49And the full range of our daily mishaps...
0:00:51 > 0:00:54..has never been more visible.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Thanks to the UK's 31 million smartphones
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and almost 2 million CCTV cameras,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05the nation's catastrophic blunders and epic fails
0:01:05 > 0:01:07are being recorded like never before.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11From the unpredictable...
0:01:11 > 0:01:12What are you doing?
0:01:12 > 0:01:15..to the avoidable...
0:01:15 > 0:01:17and the downright daft.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25We're going to reveal the mayhem and mishaps of everyday life.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Since time began, humans have gasped and giggled
0:01:38 > 0:01:42at other people's minor misfortunes, but a more modern phenomenon
0:01:42 > 0:01:43is videoing it...
0:01:45 > 0:01:47..and then instantly sharing it with the world.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54But to navigate the vast amount of online mishaps
0:01:54 > 0:01:57would take for ever, so we've done it for you.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02We've trawled the stats and grilled experts
0:02:02 > 0:02:07to identify the most dangerous, destructive
0:02:07 > 0:02:09and disaster-prone areas of our lives.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13For each category of chaos,
0:02:13 > 0:02:19we've unearthed a wealth of dramatic and surprising video clips.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24We'll discover which are our most damaging domestic activities...
0:02:24 > 0:02:25Breakfast is now on...
0:02:25 > 0:02:29..and probe one of our costliest pitfalls away from home.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- Whoa!- Engine dead.
0:02:32 > 0:02:33Argh! THEY LAUGH
0:02:33 > 0:02:36We'll investigate the tricks and techniques
0:02:36 > 0:02:38that keep disaster at bay...
0:02:39 > 0:02:44..and reveal which everyday accident causes more hospital admissions
0:02:44 > 0:02:45than any other.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Gah!
0:02:48 > 0:02:51But first, the epitome of personal disaster -
0:02:51 > 0:02:55humiliating and possibly painful... it's walking into things.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03We've all done it, banged into an item of street furniture...
0:03:03 > 0:03:05or even walked into a wall.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11But there were over 20,000 hospital admissions last year
0:03:11 > 0:03:15after people walked into or somehow collided with other objects.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Often, it's when we're distracted.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Cross the road while texting
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and it's been found you're four times more likely
0:03:25 > 0:03:27to ignore the traffic or lights.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33This woman coming down the steps of a Birmingham shopping centre
0:03:33 > 0:03:36on her phone is heading for an unplanned bath.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46But get distracted, and you can walk into far worse.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51This is Eoin Clarke. Ironically, he runs a CCTV company,
0:03:51 > 0:03:56and he was caught in an alarming incident on his own cameras.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59I help out in this pub doing music at the weekends.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Somebody asked me to change the channel on the TV.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07I went behind the bar, got the remote, walked towards the TV
0:04:07 > 0:04:09and the ground just swallowed me up.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13It was about 10, 12 feet, that's quite a drop.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16The boss quickly closes the trapdoor,
0:04:16 > 0:04:17rushing down the stairs to help.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21The shocked staff had known it was open,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23but didn't expect Eoin to join them.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I should have been seriously injured, you know,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31so I'm very, very, very lucky.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36You are supposed to have a barrier or someone on the lookout
0:04:36 > 0:04:41around an open trap door, but these accidents happen again and again.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Now, of course, looking where you're going isn't a bad idea.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53But sometimes what we walk into is designed not to be seen.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00Full-height glazing - around the world, it's all the rage.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Shops...
0:05:01 > 0:05:04offices...
0:05:04 > 0:05:08even in our homes, bringing that wonderful sense of openness.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09BLEEP
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Across Europe, we're using around 50% more glass
0:05:20 > 0:05:22than we did two decades ago,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26so the safety of this famously fragile material
0:05:26 > 0:05:28has become extra important.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31At least for most of us.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35A classic example that we did have was a burglar
0:05:35 > 0:05:37who inadvertently got... Well, he got caught
0:05:37 > 0:05:41because he had ripped his hand open
0:05:41 > 0:05:44trying to open a window which was locked.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And the police just followed the trail of blood
0:05:47 > 0:05:50around the corner, where he was still trying to stop the bleeding.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53This criminal in Australia came a cropper
0:05:53 > 0:05:57when he confused a full-height window for an open door.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01This actually happened to me.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06I was on holiday and it was getting dark, and I wasn't looking
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and I walked straight through a 10-foot plate glass window.
0:06:14 > 0:06:15I could have quite easily been killed,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17because the glass, when it falls...
0:06:17 > 0:06:20As I went through, it just fell behind me like a guillotine
0:06:20 > 0:06:22and then just shattered all over the floor.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30The problem with glass is that it's just too see-through.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32If you're not looking where you're going,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34it is likely that you won't see it coming -
0:06:34 > 0:06:38which is why it's extremely important that it doesn't hurt you.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Well, not as badly as it might.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47To make things safer, architects use toughened glass
0:06:47 > 0:06:49that can withstand severe punishment
0:06:49 > 0:06:53and leaves us with nothing worse than a bump on the head.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59So, what's the difference between glass you can do this to...
0:06:59 > 0:07:01and glass you can't?
0:07:08 > 0:07:10So, this is just a standard piece of glass
0:07:10 > 0:07:12that you might find from a glazier.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15We're going to heat it up and then cool it down very rapidly
0:07:15 > 0:07:19and at the end of that process, we will have a piece of toughened glass.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Paul Warren from Pilkington Glass has a very noisy machine
0:07:24 > 0:07:29that'll make ordinary glass five times tougher before our very eyes.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Surprisingly simply, all you do is heat it up and cool it down,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38very quickly under jets of cold air.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43- There's no gas or chemicals...- No. - ..it is just common or garden air.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Just common or garden air.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Apparently the top and bottom surfaces harden straight away,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54but the inner core of the glass takes longer to set
0:07:54 > 0:07:59and tries to shrink a bit, pulling the outer surfaces inwards,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02making them tighter and tougher.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06OK, so here we have a piece of toughened glass.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08- It looks...It looks no different... - No different...
0:08:08 > 0:08:10- ..to the glass that we put in. - Exactly.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13So, simply, you've heated it up,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16you've cooled it down within five minutes
0:08:16 > 0:08:20and now that's five times tougher coming out as it was going in?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22- That's it?- More or less, yes.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Well, Paul says it's tougher, but I want proof.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31So they've arranged a demonstration that's more in my area of expertise.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And that's generations of back garden footballers.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42BLEEP
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Oh, my God!
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I'm going to kick a ball through this window...
0:08:47 > 0:08:49on purpose.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55First in the firing line, it's ordinary un-toughened glass.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58So all I've got to do is recreate what I did
0:08:58 > 0:09:02- to my teacher Mrs Mallinson's window back in the 1980s?- Exactly.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- And put a ball through it.- Yep.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- No pressure then, here.- No.- OK?- No.
0:09:12 > 0:09:13Right.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Is that safe to go near?
0:09:16 > 0:09:20If you walked into this, those shards could be deadly,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24which is why fitting ordinary glass in and around doors
0:09:24 > 0:09:26was banned in the early '90s.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Next, a pane of glass that's been through the toughening process
0:09:32 > 0:09:34of heating and rapid cooling.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36- Let's give this a go, then.- OK.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Well, my incredibly powerful right foot
0:09:43 > 0:09:45proves that this is indeed far stronger.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48Agh!
0:09:48 > 0:09:51But in a floor-to-ceiling situation,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53glass has to withstand more than a football.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59That might not be the most scientific way of doing it.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02You do have more scientific ways here, using the pendulum.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05We do, we have a pendulum which is a 50kg steel weight
0:10:05 > 0:10:10with a couple of tyres wrapped around it just to soften the blow a bit,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and that's supposed to simulate a person running into the glass.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Right, so now we're going to simulate a person
0:10:16 > 0:10:19running into the toughened glass because that, quite frankly,
0:10:19 > 0:10:20didn't work.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26These days, glass in door areas and any window within 80cm of the floor
0:10:26 > 0:10:29must be safe even under a massive impact.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Whoa! Whoa!
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Now I know what you're thinking - "That's broken."
0:10:41 > 0:10:45But there's breaking, and there's breaking.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51That has gone everywhere, but when you look at it,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54look at the minute pieces compared to the jagged shards
0:10:54 > 0:10:56that came out of the last one.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Exactly, that's what toughening is designed to do -
0:10:58 > 0:11:00it's designed first of all to make the glass stronger
0:11:00 > 0:11:03so it doesn't break, but if it does break,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06it breaks in a manner that is classed as safety glass.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12So, why does toughened glass break like this?
0:11:12 > 0:11:14The reason goes back to those cooling nozzles
0:11:14 > 0:11:16in the toughening process.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Under polarised light, you can see where the air jets have
0:11:22 > 0:11:26created stresses in the glass, right across the pane.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28If it does break...
0:11:28 > 0:11:32the stresses inside the glass transmit the cracks
0:11:32 > 0:11:37across the entire surface, so large shards don't form.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39That kind of pattern that also happens sometimes
0:11:39 > 0:11:42when you're driving and you've got your sunglasses on,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44- is that a similar...? - It's exactly the same thing,
0:11:44 > 0:11:49the rear windows of a car have been subjected to exactly the same process
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and if you are wearing sunglasses,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54they effectively polarise the light
0:11:54 > 0:11:56and so you can see exactly the same pattern.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Luckily for this waitress, toughened glass breaks
0:11:59 > 0:12:02so completely that the pieces are too small to hurt.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13And when this American decides to walk through the office window,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16he can walk away from it too, with only a headache.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24So, a simple process of heating and cooling glass...
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Ow.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29..can save you from serious damage.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Although it won't, of course, save your blushes.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48All manner of mishaps get caught on camera.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56From the spectacular things that happen to us at work...
0:13:01 > 0:13:04..to the more familiar domain of our homes.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Sometimes the devastation is out of our control...
0:13:13 > 0:13:15BLEEP
0:13:15 > 0:13:17..but other times it's of our own making.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Take badly-installed washing machines.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Alarming spin cycles can occur
0:13:26 > 0:13:29when someone's left in the temporary fixing bolts
0:13:29 > 0:13:31that stop the drum wobbling in transit.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Overloaded machines account for many other damaged washers...
0:13:44 > 0:13:47..although chucking a breeze block in may be asking for it.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52But there's something we do at home
0:13:52 > 0:13:56that can cause much more widespread devastation.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Do-it-yourself, an activity so hazardous,
0:14:01 > 0:14:08it causes an estimated 220,000 hospital trips per year.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12People do DIY that they are not qualified to do.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17A classic example is a dad up a ladder trying to drill something,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19nobody at the bottom of the ladder,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23ladder wobbles, drill misses, drill goes into hand.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30We do get some people coming in
0:14:30 > 0:14:34having put their finger in a light socket, trying to fix it.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41This is an injury sustained by a gentleman who was using a nail gun.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46This gentleman has pressed the button, the gun has jumped
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and as he's jumped, his finger has hit the button again
0:14:49 > 0:14:52and unfortunately, the nail has gone straight through his hand.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56And even if no bodily harm is caused...
0:14:56 > 0:14:58What are you doin'?!
0:14:58 > 0:15:03..over 60% of DIY-ers say they have caused damage to their homes.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Yeah... Oh...!
0:15:06 > 0:15:09One insurance company estimated the annual cost of putting right
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Britain's bodged handiwork is a staggering...
0:15:17 > 0:15:23And there's a time of year insurance companies can see a spike in claims,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25around the spring bank holidays.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26BLEEP
0:15:26 > 0:15:27One insurance company found out
0:15:27 > 0:15:28that one particular year
0:15:28 > 0:15:32in the month of May, when there were two banks holidays, of course,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34there was a 20% increase in claims.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Claims go up to £10,000,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42so people are doing some pretty brutal things out there.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48So, what are our most frequent DIY blunders?
0:15:48 > 0:15:52According to one insurer, at number three, it's breaking a window...
0:15:53 > 0:15:55..at two, it's damaging a wall...
0:15:57 > 0:16:01..and our commonest cockup is spilling paint.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11But an ambitious few will take on a plumbing project.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Gary Ellis from Luton got out of his depth
0:16:15 > 0:16:17with a job he thought would be simple.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22The idea was that we were changing the downstairs toilet suite over,
0:16:22 > 0:16:28which involved doing some plumbing, and that's when disaster struck.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31It's supposed to be the main stopcock...
0:16:31 > 0:16:33'I was working down in the corner, trying to actually
0:16:33 > 0:16:36'take the pipe out and then redo the pipe work.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40'Unfortunately, the stopcock didn't work at all.'
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Stepson James was on the scene in seconds...
0:16:47 > 0:16:49..but not to offer help.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51I was just upstairs watching TV
0:16:51 > 0:16:53and I just heard water just spraying everywhere.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I knew that Gary was working on the bathroom downstairs
0:16:56 > 0:16:59so I grabbed my camcorder and ran down the stairs.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02What can I do? Can I turn off anything?
0:17:02 > 0:17:04'I was just worried about Gary turning around
0:17:04 > 0:17:06'and seeing the camera, cos I knew he'd go mad,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08'so I was holding the camera to the side...'
0:17:08 > 0:17:11and I was saying, "Oh, what do you want me to help you with,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13"do you want me to get you any towels or...?"
0:17:13 > 0:17:15JAMES LAUGHS
0:17:15 > 0:17:18But I knew he was recording, I didn't need to see.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20You don't do anything without recording it.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Home improvement enthusiasts, take note.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Today's DIY disaster could well become tomorrow's viral video.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Not a good time to be videoing, James.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38So, expect the unexpected - and if it's plumbing you're doing,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42consider wearing wellies, not slippers.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47If it's not DIY that's at the root of our bank holiday calamities,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50then we're often cooking up trouble for ourselves in another way.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Barbecues.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Britain has about 120 million of them a year -
0:17:59 > 0:18:02over three times more than a decade ago,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06and of course, not all of us have mastered the technique,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09with blackened food that's raw inside
0:18:09 > 0:18:13contributing to a swell in food poisoning every summer.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19And that's not our only incompetence.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Hilarious as these lot may think it is...
0:18:24 > 0:18:28..pouring petrol on hot coals is downright dangerous.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Water, water!
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Argh!
0:18:38 > 0:18:42One insurance company calculated barbecue misuse
0:18:42 > 0:18:48caused over £600 million of fire damage in a two-year period.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50LAUGHTER
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Here in St Helen's, it was the garden furniture
0:18:53 > 0:18:54that ended up chargrilled.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57The barbecue's done, because the table's on fire.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59LAUGHTER
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Classic.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02The one consolation with an out-of-control barbecue
0:19:02 > 0:19:06is the fact that it's outdoors and can't easily spread.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13But indoors, it can be a different story.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15REVERSE ALARM BEEPS
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Cooking fires can get out of hand incredibly quickly,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25and in the worst-case scenarios take hold before we even know it.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Come here. Come into the kitchen.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32These housemates seem oblivious to the danger of a small cooking fire.
0:19:32 > 0:19:33BLEEP
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Most of us would turn off the heat and maybe cover the pan
0:19:40 > 0:19:43with a wrung-out tea towel...
0:19:43 > 0:19:45not dump its contents in the bin.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48Oh, my... Oh, my God!
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Chuck the whole bin out.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54These three were lucky, but our casual approach to cooking
0:19:54 > 0:19:57can have the most horrendous consequences.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Over 60% of fires in houses start in the kitchen,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04and the majority of those fires which start in the kitchen
0:20:04 > 0:20:06centre around the cooker.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09It's significantly worse if you're using oil.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12But Lee Shears from Cheshire Fire Service tells me
0:20:12 > 0:20:15it's not just the old burning chip pan that catches us out.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22As healthier cooking has caught on, grilling fatty foods
0:20:22 > 0:20:26is now a regular cause of fire, especially if we're distracted.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30When you're using grill pans and frying pans
0:20:30 > 0:20:33- and oil, you know - it's very easy to say, isn't it? But, yes...- Yeah.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35..you've got to look after your children,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38you go and answer the telephone, and then you're not paying attention.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40If it gets too hot, you can't turn the heat down,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42you can't remove it from the cooker,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44and it can quite easily catch fire and then spread
0:20:44 > 0:20:46to the rest of your kitchen very quickly.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49So, basically, when I'm cooking bacon,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51I shouldn't then go and take my wife a cup of tea in bed,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53she should come down and get her own cup of tea
0:20:53 > 0:20:55so that I'm still looking at the grill pan?(!)
0:20:55 > 0:20:58I think I'm going to have to pass on that question, I think!
0:20:58 > 0:20:59I don't want to upset your wife.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06To prove grills want watching, Lee's going to put on some breakfast.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09But I'm taking precautions,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12as I've heard he likes his bacon very well done.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18We've got a real kitchen in a real block of flats due for demolition.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26Breakfast is now on.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30How's it looking on the thermal imaging at the moment?
0:21:30 > 0:21:32If you look on the image, you've got quite a lot of heat
0:21:32 > 0:21:36above the cooker itself, but that's all we'd expect at this time
0:21:36 > 0:21:38and most other things around it are fairly cool.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43For the first ten minutes our grill just heats up
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and the food cooks away.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48But that's about to change.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51What I'd expect is that we start to get some flaming
0:21:51 > 0:21:53on top of the grill pan.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- So there we go...- There you go. - Right on cue, Mark.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02Bacon fat catches fire at about 350 degrees centigrade,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04but a build-up of old fat
0:22:04 > 0:22:08and food remnants in our grill pan brings that temperature down.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11If you keep a nice, clean grill pan,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14you know, there's much less chance of it happening.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Now, if you'd just popped out of the room at this point
0:22:19 > 0:22:21things would be turning nasty without you knowing.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27That'll start to spread a little over the sides of the cooker.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30And you can see, as well, the first signs of smoke.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36If you breathe in smoke, sometimes it can be 1,000 degrees.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40The effect of that is a burn on the inside of the lungs.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44If you look up to your left here, you can see clearly on the wall...
0:22:44 > 0:22:48- Yeah.- ..that layer of smoke as it starts to make its way down
0:22:48 > 0:22:51and you can feel yourself starting to get quite warm now.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52Yes, a lot warmer.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59You only need a very small fire, and it creates a lot of smoke.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04If that smoke is inhaled, you're inhaling a cocktail
0:23:04 > 0:23:09of airborne chemicals, carbon monoxide, cyanide.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13When you breathe in carbon monoxide, it binds to the haemoglobin,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16which transports oxygen around your body.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21That means that you have less oxygen travelling around your body,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and that can have serious consequences.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27About 15 minutes since the grill went on,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30we'd be choking without the breathing gear,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34and yet the fire is only just starting to spread
0:23:34 > 0:23:36to the next cupboard.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Can you imagine trying to find your way out of this?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42I can just about make out an outline of one of the chairs
0:23:42 > 0:23:44and I can make out where the flames are,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- but there's not a great deal else that now I can see.- No.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49And you would become massively disorientated.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55With the kitchen starting to collapse in front of us,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58it's time to get out and let the fire crew in.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02I am dripping, absolutely dripping.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08The heat is unbelievable, but not as unbelievable as the smoke.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10And if you get home from the pub
0:24:10 > 0:24:11and put on some bacon for a bacon sandwich
0:24:11 > 0:24:15and fall asleep, even in your own house, as soon as the smoke comes,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17crikey, you're going to be in trouble.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24Emergency crews attend around 20,000 cooking fires a year.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Over 4,000 people are injured...
0:24:29 > 0:24:33and, sadly, around 30 die.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36So, clean your grill pan, check your smoke alarm
0:24:36 > 0:24:39and if there is a fire, get out and call 999.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Out and about, transport is another area of life
0:24:55 > 0:24:58where drama and danger gets caught on camera.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05On the rail network, tens of thousands of security cameras
0:25:05 > 0:25:08bring to light some shockingly reckless incidents...
0:25:12 > 0:25:14..and some terrifying near misses.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16HORN BLARES
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Thankfully, incidents like this are few and far between,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27but should be a warning to take care.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33CAR ENGINE APPROACHES
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Our transport troubles are much more diverse
0:25:38 > 0:25:40when we do the driving ourselves.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42ONLOOKERS LAUGH
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Britain's cars bear the brunt
0:25:45 > 0:25:49of a staggering £19 million worth of damage every day.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56And it's icy roads that can cause a real spike in insurance claims,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59sometimes over 30%.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05Oddly, that's despite the fact that we appear to be taking more care.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07What's really interesting about snowy weather
0:26:07 > 0:26:10is that, actually, the number of people suffering injury
0:26:10 > 0:26:12goes down by up to half,
0:26:12 > 0:26:14but, actually, damage to cars goes up.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16So people are driving more carefully,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18so they're not suffering those big whiplash claims,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22but they're making small crashes and prangs in the snowy weather.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25You could be the best driver in the whole world
0:26:25 > 0:26:28and still suffer quite a lot of damage to your car,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31and that's because the top type of claims that happen in snowy weather
0:26:31 > 0:26:33are to cars that are parked.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34HORN HONKS
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Of course, just parking your car in the first place
0:26:41 > 0:26:43can be sometimes nigh-on impossible.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49In the end, this driver in Leeds
0:26:49 > 0:26:51decides that halfway up the neighbour's step
0:26:51 > 0:26:54is about as good as it's going to get.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59Agh!
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Are you all right?
0:27:07 > 0:27:10And, talking of parking, you might want to wait
0:27:10 > 0:27:13till you've actually done it before getting out.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14BLEEP
0:27:16 > 0:27:17They've just left the car.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24But, in other extreme weather, our behaviour is very different.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29Getting behind the wheel after heavy rain,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32many drivers think they're invincible -
0:27:32 > 0:27:36perhaps at the helm of some sort of river craft -
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and they end up trashing the engine...
0:27:42 > 0:27:44..or even in danger.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Driving through flowing water is never a good idea.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Just one foot of it can move a family car.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Six inches can sweep a person off their feet.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03These Kilmarnock motorists were very lucky indeed,
0:28:03 > 0:28:08and the only thing swept away was their no-claims discount.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14You'd imagine that we'd be used to rain in this country
0:28:14 > 0:28:16and take it all in our stride,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20but maybe complacency is part of our problem
0:28:20 > 0:28:24because, when it comes to downpours, we think we've seen it all,
0:28:24 > 0:28:28but in fact, our country has been getting a lot wetter of late.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Four out of five of the wettest years on record
0:28:34 > 0:28:36have occurred since the year 2000.
0:28:38 > 0:28:422007, which was known as the year of the great floods for insurers,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45one insurer reported there were 11,000 calls for claims
0:28:45 > 0:28:47in a single month.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Normally for that month,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52they'd have expected just 350 general flood claims.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56SCREAMING
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Oh, my God!
0:28:58 > 0:29:03In 2012, an estimated 16,000 cars were involved
0:29:03 > 0:29:04in flood insurance claims.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08It's a serious issue for insurers.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13There have been many cases of people being pretty daft in flood water.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17So, if the rain's getting worse,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20what's the secret of staying out of trouble?
0:29:22 > 0:29:26I've come to this test track to meet ex-army commando Steve Trulia...
0:29:28 > 0:29:33..and we're going to take a couple of scrapyard specials for a dip.
0:29:33 > 0:29:34The most important thing
0:29:34 > 0:29:37is not to drive into anything that you can't see the bottom of.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39A lot of people, especially if they're driving a 4x4,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42the old Chelsea tractor, think they're driving a tank -
0:29:42 > 0:29:43not necessarily the case.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46It won't go through everything, so you need to be careful.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48And, so, we've got our two cars over there,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50we've got a little car and we've got our 4x4,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53your "Chelsea tractor," as you like to call it.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- Will they both survive in here? - Yeah, they ought to,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59- there's no reason they shouldn't... - Both of them?- Yeah, they should,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01there's no reason they shouldn't get through OK.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Well, the only reason may be if I'm behind the wheel.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06We'll have to do a couple of things technically while we're driving.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09- If we get those things right, we'll get through it no problem at all.- OK.
0:30:13 > 0:30:14It sounds obvious, doesn't it?
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Don't drive through anything too deep.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Yet many of us do.
0:30:22 > 0:30:23I think I'd sit and wait
0:30:23 > 0:30:26for somebody else to make it through first...
0:30:28 > 0:30:30..but that's no guarantee,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33because even if your car is higher than the one in front,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36like this one, there's a couple of other things
0:30:36 > 0:30:39that'll determine whether or not you get your feet wet.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43There we go.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47I'm rubbish when it comes to looking under a car bonnet.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50I know where my windscreen washer is and sometimes my oil,
0:30:50 > 0:30:51but that's about it.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53So what are we looking for in relation to this?
0:30:53 > 0:30:56This is all about a thing called the air intake,
0:30:56 > 0:30:58and that's this thing here,
0:30:58 > 0:31:00this little tube that supplies air to the engine.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03The engine needs fuel and it needs air as well.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06The height of this is what's critical to us,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10and on this car, it's about 60cm up,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13so that gives us some idea, as long as we don't get water in there,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16so as long as that water level's below 60 cm, we should be safe.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20So this plastic tube sucks air in, takes it through into the engine...
0:31:20 > 0:31:24Through into the engine, yeah. Air, not water.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29- Right, if it sucks in water... - Very expensive, engine broken.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33'But how water resistant are the engines of 4x4s?'
0:31:34 > 0:31:36Obviously, it feels like it should be higher
0:31:36 > 0:31:38- because the car is higher...- Yeah.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40..but I don't get it, cos my engine expertise...
0:31:40 > 0:31:42- It isn't necessarily the case... - I can't see it.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46OK, it's here and actually, it's a little incomplete.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49It's sometimes got a little piece on it that raises it up higher,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51but that seems to be missing.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54All right, well, we got the car from a scrapyard, so...
0:31:54 > 0:31:56- But, anyhow... - And it could fall off.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Of course, some 4x4s have a snorkel up on the roof,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01cos they're designed for driving in muddy and wet terrain.
0:32:01 > 0:32:02Oh, right, OK. So when you see the...
0:32:02 > 0:32:04So that is an actual snorkel?
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Snorkel, that's exactly what it's called, a snorkel.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08- So we don't have that on this, though.- We don't, so this one...
0:32:08 > 0:32:11- where it is now, we're probably at about 80cm...- OK.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13So, a little bit more than the other one...
0:32:13 > 0:32:15It's not a lot, though, is it?
0:32:15 > 0:32:16I mean, when you look at the two vehicles,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19this looks considerably higher, but that's not a lot
0:32:19 > 0:32:20in the grand scheme of things.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23It's not, and I think a lot of 4x4s now aren't necessarily designed
0:32:23 > 0:32:26to be full-on off-road vehicles without modification.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29No, but that - you can understand why you get the impression,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31then, if you drive a 4x4, that you're indestructible,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34but actually, you know, when you go beneath the bonnet,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36- everything's quite similar. - Yeah, absolutely.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Surprisingly, despite wetter weather of late,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45air intakes on some newer cars have been getting lower,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49where it's cooler and better for engine efficiency.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54So it's more important than ever to know the next bit -
0:32:54 > 0:32:57how to drive in water,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01something even the professionals get wrong from time to time.
0:33:01 > 0:33:02Oh, well done(!)
0:33:02 > 0:33:05ONLOOKERS CHEER SARCASTICALLY
0:33:05 > 0:33:07LAUGHTER
0:33:07 > 0:33:09I love it when a plan comes together!
0:33:09 > 0:33:10When you're in a hurry,
0:33:10 > 0:33:14the temptation can be to drive a little too quickly...
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Need a push?!
0:33:16 > 0:33:19..As these officers undoubtedly now know,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22that can create a giant bow wave
0:33:22 > 0:33:25that splashes water right into your air intake.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30And that is us, bang, engine gone... did you hear it go pop?
0:33:30 > 0:33:33- Yeah, yeah. Oh, my word. - What a mess.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35Oh, that's disgusting.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Augh...
0:33:39 > 0:33:41- So, if you look at where our air intake pipe is...- Yeah.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43..to highlight it on the outside,
0:33:43 > 0:33:45it'd probably be about there, wouldn't it?
0:33:45 > 0:33:47And that's a big difference between where it is
0:33:47 > 0:33:49and where the water level is.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Yeah, exactly. You'd think that that was safe, wouldn't you?
0:33:52 > 0:33:54Well, it would be, perhaps, if you went cautiously,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56if you didn't go gung-ho and go and create a big bow wave
0:33:56 > 0:33:58and damage your engine.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00Yeah, so the only reason the water reached the air intake pipe
0:34:00 > 0:34:03- was because of the speed we entered the water.- Absolutely.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08Take it really slowly, and you should make it.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12There's just one other trick,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15which this driver near Bath clearly knows.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20The exhaust pipe is going to be submerged in water at that depth,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23so we need to keep the revs high so that there's exhaust fumes
0:34:23 > 0:34:26coming out to stop the water going in and blocking the exhaust.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29So, high revs, constant speed, not too fast.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32- Don't go too fast, so you're in first gear...- Yeah.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- ..if you feel you're going too fast, just slip the clutch a bit...- OK.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37..and keep it smooth and keep it up.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39No... That's it, not much faster.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41That's good speed, good speed, higher revs, higher revs,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44higher revs, higher revs, high revs, high revs, keep going, keep going,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47keep going, keep going, nice and smooth, that's it,
0:34:47 > 0:34:49keep going, keep the revs up, keep going, keep going...
0:34:49 > 0:34:51good, excellent.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Out the other side, clear it first...and...stop.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55- Well done.- Whoa.- Whoa!
0:34:55 > 0:34:58- I got a bit worried, then. - I did too!
0:34:58 > 0:35:00I got a bit worried, then. That felt very weird,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03at one point I thought that was going to go horribly wrong.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05It really... I thought we'd lost it in the middle.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08- Obviously...- Back off.- ..the natural instinct is to back off...
0:35:08 > 0:35:10That's why I was saying, "Keep your revs up."
0:35:10 > 0:35:13- Keep your revs up...- ..cos that's what will keep us safe.- Constant.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17When your engine sucks in water,
0:35:17 > 0:35:21you'll be lucky if your car isn't a write-off.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23- Ah...- Oh!
0:35:23 > 0:35:24THEY LAUGH
0:35:24 > 0:35:28Oh, we've got drinks bottles, there's a CD on the back seat
0:35:28 > 0:35:31that's floating, it came through the sun roof, as well.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Then, there's only one way you're going to get your motor out...
0:35:39 > 0:35:42..which, for some people, is clearly an adventure...
0:35:42 > 0:35:45Look, Megan! We're getting rescued by a police car.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50..but for others is only the start of the grief.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53MAN SHOUTS
0:35:56 > 0:35:59The irony is, this man's misfortune could have been caused
0:35:59 > 0:36:02by just an egg cup-full of water.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26We're looking into the most mishap-prone areas of our lives...
0:36:26 > 0:36:27Ooh!
0:36:27 > 0:36:32..as caught on camera by millions of mobile phones and CCTV.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Take the 13,500 hospital admissions last year
0:36:38 > 0:36:40after people fell off their chairs...
0:36:40 > 0:36:42- CRASH - Ow.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Don't jump. You'll hurt yourself.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46..and the 10,000 others
0:36:46 > 0:36:49that followed falls from playground equipment.
0:36:51 > 0:36:52Whoa!
0:36:52 > 0:36:54We can use this catalogue of calamity
0:36:54 > 0:36:56to try and avoid it happening to us.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02So far, all our mishaps could have been prevented
0:37:02 > 0:37:05by the poor victim...
0:37:05 > 0:37:06or somebody close by.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16But our next category of accidentally filmed incidents
0:37:16 > 0:37:21strikes anybody passing without warning...
0:37:21 > 0:37:25and can be so unexpected, it's only the prevalence of cameraphones
0:37:25 > 0:37:28and CCTV that's brought them into the public eye.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37When the floor beneath our feet erupts...
0:37:37 > 0:37:39it can be spectacular.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Oh, God, it's getting higher! It's like a tree!
0:37:41 > 0:37:43LAUGHTER
0:37:43 > 0:37:44Oh, no!
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Burst water mains can also be dangerous.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50It's throwing stones in the air.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53And smashing all the cars.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58However, occasionally,
0:37:58 > 0:38:01there's a much more dramatic type of pavement eruption.
0:38:04 > 0:38:05Oh, my God!
0:38:07 > 0:38:10It's not really what you'd expect, is it?
0:38:10 > 0:38:13You're walking down the street and the suddenly - bang!
0:38:13 > 0:38:15There go the flagstones from beneath your feet.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19But it's a phenomenon that's being captured more and more,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22thanks to CCTV and mobiles.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28The man walking towards the camera in this London street
0:38:28 > 0:38:29is about to have a lucky escape.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36I saw a...broken pavement, and then a puddle as well,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39and I decided to get off the pavement onto the main street,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and then about a good two seconds later
0:38:41 > 0:38:43I heard a large rumbling sound.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50I turned around and I saw fire gushing up
0:38:50 > 0:38:52from the bottom, with smoke.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54You could even smell burnt rubber.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01It happened in exactly the position where those men are actually working.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Completely caught me off guard - I mean, why would this be happening,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07you know, on a friendly street in London?
0:39:15 > 0:39:17I consider myself to be really lucky
0:39:17 > 0:39:20to have actually got off the pavement at the right moment
0:39:20 > 0:39:22before that explosion took place.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Someone was watching over me on that day.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29The electricity in the area went off...
0:39:29 > 0:39:35so I would assume it could have been related to a power cable, perhaps.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42There have been about 50 pavement blasts in London
0:39:42 > 0:39:45in the last three years.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47But they occur all over Britain...
0:39:49 > 0:39:52..this one, in Peterborough...
0:39:52 > 0:39:57and many of these incidents are indeed related to buried cables.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Dr Iliana Portugues, an expert in power distribution,
0:40:01 > 0:40:03knows all about them.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Yes, under here there's probably...
0:40:05 > 0:40:09probably several cables supplying all of this street.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11What, and they carry different amounts of power?
0:40:11 > 0:40:15You would probably be looking at three different sizes in general.
0:40:15 > 0:40:2011,000 volts, 400 volts and perhaps a couple of 240 volt cables.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27So what can make an electrical cable explode seemingly at random?
0:40:27 > 0:40:33When something does occur, it has to be produced by an external factor.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37Sometimes these electricity cables get tampered with by people
0:40:37 > 0:40:41or through roadworks, or suffer some damage
0:40:41 > 0:40:45through movement of the soil and these, if extreme,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47can cause a short-circuit.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50There's all manner of cables running beneath our feet,
0:40:50 > 0:40:54installed over the century or so we've had mains power.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58When they explode, it's usually one of the higher voltage ones
0:40:58 > 0:41:01that turns out to be the culprit.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03So we've got a variety of cables here, haven't we,
0:41:03 > 0:41:05that look different,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07but I'm assuming they're essentially the same.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Yes, they're essentially the cables one would find
0:41:10 > 0:41:14distributing electricity from outside the city,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16throughout the city, to your house.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20This is the core conductor carrying the electricity.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24This is the insulation that safeguards the conductor.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29Here we've got a lead shielding surrounding and supporting the cable,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31and here we've got further insulation
0:41:31 > 0:41:33to support and insulate the conductor.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39And when a cable is damaged, then, what happens then,
0:41:39 > 0:41:44what is the science behind the explosions that we then see?
0:41:44 > 0:41:47In cases of digging, when you dig a cable and you damage the cable,
0:41:47 > 0:41:50if something exposes the cable to the elements
0:41:50 > 0:41:54and things like rain, which in this country happens often, for...
0:41:54 > 0:41:58and water is a problem, because water carries electricity.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02It accumulates through the crack that you've created
0:42:02 > 0:42:06and it touches the main conductor, which is the centre bit,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09and the outside strands which are earth,
0:42:09 > 0:42:13and that short circuit, it creates the spark.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Famously, electricity and water don't get on very well.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23Stand by, we're going to charge the unit. Power on.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27We've asked special effects wizard Mark Turner to prove it.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Three...two...one...
0:42:35 > 0:42:41That's what nearly 10,000 volts meeting a tank full of water looks like.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Do not copy this in any way.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Now, of course, that was a big effect that we set up.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50But what it does demonstrate is the power of electricity
0:42:50 > 0:42:54and the fact that even though it can create a lot of good things,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57one really needs to be very respectful of it.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01Next, we're going to try
0:43:01 > 0:43:04and recreate the sort of explosion you might get
0:43:04 > 0:43:05when a tiny bit of water
0:43:05 > 0:43:08seeps through the insulation of a damaged cable.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13So what we've done here is, we've first prepared the cable.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17We've done this by cutting the insulation and letting seep
0:43:17 > 0:43:21the inside current-carrying core and the outside, which is the ground.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23So that cable is now damaged
0:43:23 > 0:43:25in the same way that a cable would be damaged
0:43:25 > 0:43:27if a digger had gone through it or if the ground had shifted?
0:43:27 > 0:43:28Exactly.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34The core and the earthing mesh aren't touching, but add water,
0:43:34 > 0:43:39which in reality could take time to penetrate, and there's a connection.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46Standing by to fire. Three...two...one...
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Wow. That was, er... that was quite big, wasn't it?
0:43:54 > 0:43:57- I think so, let's go and see what it will look like.- OK.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59What are you expecting to see here?
0:43:59 > 0:44:02I expect to see some blacked cable, ideally.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05And look, you can see here, some of it's blackened out.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12The current passes from the inner core, through the water,
0:44:12 > 0:44:17to the outer earthing wires, causing a spark and a burst of flame
0:44:17 > 0:44:22and this is the story behind most pavement explosions.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24Of course, if the cable would have caught fire,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27anything surrounding it would have caught fire.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Then we're no longer talking about the electric spark,
0:44:30 > 0:44:32we are now talking about a standard fire.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36By this point, circuit breakers would cut the supply.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40What's left to fizzle and burn is the insulation.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48And sometimes in manholes, flammable gases build up which,
0:44:48 > 0:44:50when ignited, can really go bang.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54Oh, my God!
0:44:55 > 0:44:58As dramatic as these incidents are, they're also relatively rare,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01especially when you consider the hundreds of thousands of miles
0:45:01 > 0:45:04of electric cable that are underneath our towns and cities
0:45:04 > 0:45:08just sitting there, doing their jobs without us noticing them.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12But if the pavement was to explode in front of you,
0:45:12 > 0:45:14this might explain what happened.
0:45:25 > 0:45:30There's one final everyday mishap that occurs more often
0:45:30 > 0:45:32than anything else...
0:45:32 > 0:45:34falling over.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36The all-time comedy standby.
0:45:38 > 0:45:43Yet slips, trips and falls are THE most common way we injure ourselves.
0:45:43 > 0:45:48Over 40% of our emergency injuries involve some sort of fall.
0:45:48 > 0:45:53Simply walking along is the most disastrous thing we do.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57And never is this more apparent than in winter.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02This video, filmed in Norwich, became an internet hit
0:46:02 > 0:46:04when Paul Carver
0:46:04 > 0:46:10noticed how almost every passer-by was slipping on the same icy spot.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12The reason it was bad, I think it was due to this pipe here,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16where a lot of the water had come down and frozen overnight
0:46:16 > 0:46:20and we just filmed it for two or three hours in my sister's flat,
0:46:20 > 0:46:22so I had a perfect line of sight of the chaos.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29A lot of people didn't see how bad that black ice was.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Nine out of ten people who walked across it fell.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36It was that bad, it was like a sheet of glass.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40There was a young girl who came out, she even made a little sign to put
0:46:40 > 0:46:43on the cones, "Don't walk here", and people still didn't pay attention
0:46:43 > 0:46:47and in the end I see her do this with her hands, and she walked off.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50You know, if people aren't going to listen to me, what's the point?
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Once the video went on air, the council had come down
0:46:53 > 0:46:57and cleared the paths, gritted this area of the path quite quick.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01Luckily, no-one got injured. Most of the people were young students.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03There was no-one who was in trouble,
0:47:03 > 0:47:07otherwise we would have been the first people who would have been down there.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10It's a wonder nobody was hurt.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17Every year, icy pavements cause a huge surge in hospital visits...
0:47:21 > 0:47:27..and there's one particular injury that occurs more than most.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29People slipping on ice will
0:47:29 > 0:47:31put their hands out to protect themselves
0:47:31 > 0:47:34and in the more elderly population,
0:47:34 > 0:47:36the shock of hitting the ground
0:47:36 > 0:47:39usually hits the weaker parts of their bones, which is here,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42and younger people, it's usually higher up.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46This is a classic slip injury,
0:47:46 > 0:47:50sometimes known as the dinner-fork deformity.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52What's happened is, somebody has slipped,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54they have put their wrist out to break their fall,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57and as they have broken their fall,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00all that impact has gone straight into the wrist
0:48:00 > 0:48:02and almost sheared the wrist completely off.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06See, the hand almost looks like it's been moved completely sideways.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09We see more of these during the winter months
0:48:09 > 0:48:11than we do at any other time of the year.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18When we slip, it all happens so quickly,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21but what exactly do our bodies do
0:48:21 > 0:48:24when our feet disappear from under us?
0:48:24 > 0:48:27Well, we're going to find out with the help of two volunteers.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30We've got Chris and Rick from the Blackburn Hawks Ice Hockey Club.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32- Now, you're both padded up, aren't you?- Yes, we are.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Got your helmets on. But they don't have their skates on,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37we've stuck them in normal shoes
0:48:37 > 0:48:40and in the name of science, not to laugh at you,
0:48:40 > 0:48:41we're going to ask you
0:48:41 > 0:48:44just to walk across the ice and see what happens, all right?
0:48:44 > 0:48:45- Yeah.- Away you go.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00'Ice is up there with the slipperiest things known to man.'
0:49:01 > 0:49:04'In some cases, the stuff on non-stick pans
0:49:04 > 0:49:10'and, oddly enough, knee cartilage, can be slippier.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13'But that's not much consolation to Chris and Rick.'
0:49:14 > 0:49:17'Still, they've provided an interesting case
0:49:17 > 0:49:22'study for Polly McGuigan, a biomechanics expert who
0:49:22 > 0:49:25'actually studies falling over and how we avoid it.'
0:49:26 > 0:49:31Obviously, I watch this and laugh because it's funny. What...
0:49:31 > 0:49:34I mean, you laugh as well, but what else do you see
0:49:34 > 0:49:35when Chris goes flying?
0:49:35 > 0:49:39You can see as this foot hits the ground, he loses friction,
0:49:39 > 0:49:43his foot goes off to the right and his body falls to the left.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45If the foot had gone out in front of him,
0:49:45 > 0:49:47he would have gone backwards.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49If the foot had gone to the left-hand side,
0:49:49 > 0:49:50he would have fallen to the right.
0:49:50 > 0:49:55You fall in the opposite direction to the way that your foot slips.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58When you put your foot on the ground,
0:49:58 > 0:50:00you're exerting a force against the ground
0:50:00 > 0:50:02in order to support your body weight.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05What happens when you are walking naturally is,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09your heel hits the ground and your leg's sort of at an angle like this,
0:50:09 > 0:50:11and at the point at which your heel hits the ground,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13you need some resistance
0:50:13 > 0:50:15from the surface that you're walking on to keep your foot there.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18If you're on a slippy surface, there is the potential
0:50:18 > 0:50:22that your foot's just going to keep going.
0:50:22 > 0:50:26One thing that I've spotted when Chris did this is,
0:50:26 > 0:50:31just at the moment that his foot goes there...
0:50:31 > 0:50:36the foot that he could use to recover is actually quite high up,
0:50:36 > 0:50:39so to get that back for the balance, which is what you're saying,
0:50:39 > 0:50:41to recover from the slip, is very difficult.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45You can see that he's trying. He's bringing this right foot over
0:50:45 > 0:50:48more to the left-hand side of his body,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51so he's trying to get some form of weight support
0:50:51 > 0:50:54on that side of the body to push it back upright again.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56But as you say, it's very, very difficult
0:50:56 > 0:50:58and it happens very quickly.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01And human instinct as soon as you slip is your arms out like that
0:51:01 > 0:51:03to get any kind of balance. Does that work?
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Well, evidently... Evidently not!
0:51:06 > 0:51:07It will help with your balance,
0:51:07 > 0:51:11but also there is a natural instinct to save yourself.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15'It's this instinct that leads to so many wrist injuries when it's icy.'
0:51:17 > 0:51:20So in some ways, is it better to be flat-footed
0:51:20 > 0:51:23rather than go heel first?
0:51:23 > 0:51:27Yes. And what people do naturally is, they tend to shuffle on ice.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29They tend to keep their feet on the ground
0:51:29 > 0:51:31and move one foot in front of the other,
0:51:31 > 0:51:34so we don't have the business of having to pick your foot up
0:51:34 > 0:51:36and put it back down again.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44'Shuffling might stop you going to hospital with a wrist injury
0:51:44 > 0:51:46'when it's icy...'
0:51:46 > 0:51:48- WOMAN:- Are you all right?
0:51:48 > 0:51:51'But we can't go around like that all the time...'
0:51:53 > 0:51:56'Which is why slippery floors are such a menace.'
0:51:58 > 0:52:01'Slipping and tripping is the single most common
0:52:01 > 0:52:04'cause of injury in UK workplaces.'
0:52:04 > 0:52:09For the insurance industry, slips and trips is a very big deal indeed.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Every year, a million working days are lost to businesses,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15and it costs businesses around £500 million
0:52:15 > 0:52:19in terms of lost production costs with employees and insurance claims.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26'With money like that flying around, it can be very
0:52:26 > 0:52:30'important to know just how slippery a surface might be under foot.'
0:52:32 > 0:52:35There are actually people who can tell you very precisely
0:52:35 > 0:52:37just how slippery a floor is,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40and not only that, but why it's slippery,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43and one of them works here,
0:52:43 > 0:52:45'Ceram, in Stoke-on-Trent.'
0:52:47 > 0:52:50This is a ramp test, and this is just one of the tests
0:52:50 > 0:52:53that we use to determine our slippier surfaces.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56'Lisa Cobden is a Slip Consultant.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59'She's going to show me that the slipperiness of a floor is
0:52:59 > 0:53:03'more to do with what's on it than what it's made of.'
0:53:05 > 0:53:10'By stringing me up and putting me on this tilting contraption,
0:53:10 > 0:53:13'Lisa's going to get me to test three of the most common floor
0:53:13 > 0:53:16'surfaces in our homes and workplaces:
0:53:16 > 0:53:21'Laminate, high-glossed tiles and carpet.'
0:53:22 > 0:53:23- How's that?- That's fine.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27'The angle I lose my grip on the slope is a measurement of how
0:53:27 > 0:53:29'slippy the surface is.'
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Oh! Whoa! Ah!
0:53:34 > 0:53:37You're taking quite a sadistic pleasure from this one, aren't you?
0:53:37 > 0:53:40'And lets us compare the three floors.'
0:53:44 > 0:53:47'Surprisingly, they're not very different.'
0:53:50 > 0:53:5433.2, compared to 32.8 for the laminate flooring.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56- Really?- Mm-hmm.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59'You'd expect the rougher carpet to be best,
0:53:59 > 0:54:02'but why did the other two perform so well?'
0:54:02 > 0:54:06I'm surprised, even though it's only half a degree,
0:54:06 > 0:54:10that the shiny tile went steeper than the laminate flooring.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14If you think of any surface as a series of peaks and troughs,
0:54:14 > 0:54:15and the smooth surface
0:54:15 > 0:54:18actually hasn't got very many of those peaks and troughs,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20and therefore, you get very good contact
0:54:20 > 0:54:22between the shoe and the surface,
0:54:22 > 0:54:24and that means that you'll stay in an upright position
0:54:24 > 0:54:27even though the angle of the tile is quite high.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32'Magnified thousands of times, these peaks and troughs are revealed.'
0:54:34 > 0:54:37'On smoother floors, the peaks are more even
0:54:37 > 0:54:39'and there's fewer troughs.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42'That means there's actually more surface area
0:54:42 > 0:54:46'for your foot to make contact with,
0:54:46 > 0:54:48'meaning more friction and more grip.'
0:54:50 > 0:54:52'The same goes for flatter shoes,
0:54:52 > 0:54:57'so ones with a deep tread aren't quite as grippy as you'd think.'
0:54:57 > 0:55:00That, as a shoe, or the sole of that shoe,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03looks like it's got plenty of grip on it.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05This would be good for a relatively soft surface
0:55:05 > 0:55:08where you actually sink into it, something like mud,
0:55:08 > 0:55:09because it would sink into the surface
0:55:09 > 0:55:11and you get an interlock between this tread
0:55:11 > 0:55:13and the surface that you're walking on,
0:55:13 > 0:55:15whereas on the tiled surface,
0:55:15 > 0:55:17you're simply only walking on these areas
0:55:17 > 0:55:18and it's cutting down the contact area
0:55:18 > 0:55:20between the shoe and the surface,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22which produces the friction.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25With the trainers, the whole of the sole of the shoe
0:55:25 > 0:55:27was in connection with the surface.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31'But Lisa's about to introduce an extra factor.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35'So far, I've only been on clean, dry floors.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38'Get them wet, and things change dramatically.'
0:55:40 > 0:55:44See how floors react in different conditions.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48So, that's gone at 11.2.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50'That's not even half the measurement
0:55:50 > 0:55:53'for this floor when it was dry.'
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Wow, that makes a very, very big difference, doesn't it?
0:55:56 > 0:55:57It's a huge difference.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01And these tiles are obviously used in people's kitchens,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04people's bathrooms, they're the two rooms they're predominantly in.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06So if I mess the washing-up up a little bit
0:56:06 > 0:56:08and water comes out of the sink,
0:56:08 > 0:56:12then as soon as that film of water will go on the kitchen tiles,
0:56:12 > 0:56:14it changes that surface.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16And it only needs a very tiny film of water,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19about two thousandths of a millimetre.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22Two thousandths of a millimetre?
0:56:22 > 0:56:24Two thousandths of a millimetre. On a smooth surface.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27That kind of measurement can only be seen under a microscope.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28It's tiny, it's tiny.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31But with the smooth surface, effectively, you're walking on water.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33Not for very long.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38'And it's not only water that can contaminate an otherwise
0:56:38 > 0:56:41'slip-free surface.'
0:56:41 > 0:56:44People often don't think about dust being a contaminate
0:56:44 > 0:56:46that will cause you to slip, but actually,
0:56:46 > 0:56:48dust acts like a series of small ball bearings,
0:56:48 > 0:56:51and so effectively, if you have a layer of dust on the surface,
0:56:51 > 0:56:53it's like walking on a layer of ball bearings,
0:56:53 > 0:56:54so again, you're likely to slip.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58So if we were going to boil it down then, as long as a floor,
0:56:58 > 0:57:03whatever it's made of, is clean and dry, we shouldn't fall on it?
0:57:03 > 0:57:04That's pretty much it.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07In 99.9% of cases, the slip's actually caused
0:57:07 > 0:57:09by some form of contamination.
0:57:11 > 0:57:17'And that's the thing all these accidents have in common.
0:57:17 > 0:57:22'But beware, surface contaminants come in all shapes and sizes.'
0:57:25 > 0:57:27That works, doesn't it? That works.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31It's not just me and Elmer Fudd.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42'All over Britain, mayhem abounds.'
0:57:42 > 0:57:44LAUGHTER
0:57:44 > 0:57:47'And with video cameras everywhere these days,
0:57:47 > 0:57:49'there is a staggering amount of it being filmed.'
0:57:52 > 0:57:54In the last hour, we've categorised and analysed
0:57:54 > 0:57:59'125 mishaps from all corners of our lives.'
0:58:00 > 0:58:04'From the simple, but embarrassing acts of walking into things
0:58:04 > 0:58:05'while distracted...'
0:58:05 > 0:58:08'to the times when we deliberately go head-first
0:58:08 > 0:58:11'into ruin without thinking it through.'
0:58:13 > 0:58:18'From the true devastation that can result from a simple mistake...'
0:58:18 > 0:58:20'to times when we really should know better.'
0:58:20 > 0:58:23- WOMAN:- What are you doing?!
0:58:23 > 0:58:25We are never far from disaster.
0:58:25 > 0:58:29So we should all take care out there and keep our cameras handy.
0:58:33 > 0:58:34GLASS SMASHES
0:58:38 > 0:58:40- BOY:- Don't tell, don't tell.
0:59:05 > 0:59:08Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd