This past week, the Netherlands has seen the most snow in years. Which doesn't say much, considering it only snowed four times in five days and the amount is quite negligible.
But they weren't ready. Totally unprepared and unaware it can snow in the winter. Complete news for the government. Which only pissed off people trying to get to work or buy food.
In any case, I thought I'd clear the path of snow to and around my house. As I was doing it, I noticed none of my neighbours were out and about and until the evening, indeed, I was the only one to have shoveled all that snow.
Why? Aren't there laws about this? When I was living in Germany, they were very strict about this. You have to do it and you must do it by a certain hour of the day, every day.
So I read up about this. It turns out that liability for clearing snow varies across Europe.
In Germany, homeowners are strictly required to clear sidewalks in front of their property within hours of snowfall. Failing to do so can result in fines or civil liability if someone slips.
In the Netherlands, municipalities handle road clearing (except they didn't), but residents are expected (not required) to keep sidewalks safe. Liability usually arises only if negligence leads to injury.
The United Kingdom (UK) is a bit odd to be honest. Legally, homeowners aren't required to clear snow at all, but a curious twist is that if you do shovel, you could become liable if you do it negligently. Like if you leave icy patches. So if you do it, you'd better do your best.
Accessibility isn't like snow shoveling. You're responsible no matter what.
No matter where you are, the law says your product needs to be accessible. The specifics change depending on where you are since different countries have different regulations, different enforcement mechanisms and different penalties for non-compliance.
In some places, you might face fines. In others, you could be looking at lawsuits from people who couldn't use your product. It depends on your industry as well . And the implementation varies wildly across Europe.
Okay. But the core responsibility doesn't change.
You can't just ignore it and hope no one slips. You can't claim you didn't know it was your job. And unlike snow clearing, where you might argue "well, I didn't shovel so I'm not liable," accessibility doesn't work that way. If someone can't use your product, that's on you.
It's always on you.