Pugilistic Animus.... welcome back........
Dani, I'm curious, when did you last do a VFR departure for obstacle clearance followed by a normal IFR flight in a passenger airliner? If you have done one, kindly advise me of the airline company so i can make sure my loved ones never fly on them!
We operate under FAR121 and utilize the complete width of the ICAO takeoff splay for all weather conditions, we also go a step further and factor in winds, the splay therefore becomes extremely large and even more so in a turn. We never permit lower standards in order to obtain a higher takeoff weight and we would never expect a pilot to "turn visually to avoid the obstacle", because quite frankly he is wasting his time!.
Now as far as UAL goes, i believe that the information given to your about ACARS should really close the subject....
Mutt