Mars,
What was the UK Accident Rates? Care to compare them to the US Rates for us?
In the past this same argument took place and it was found that the rates were not all that different.
Of course you realize there are approximately 800 EMS Helicopters in the USA as compared to how many in the UK? The vast majority of the EMS Operations are 24/7/365 Operations.
Numbers of accidents don't matter but rather the RATE per some unit of measurement is the way to compare.
I will bet you that the results are that for all the Rules and Tribulations you endure in the UK, you still don't cure the problem of bad/poor judgement.
It is not the as you suggest as I am taking the position of the root cause of most accidents is bad decisions and poor judgement NO MATTER WHERE ONE WORKS.
Where we differ probably is I suggest Legislation/Rules/Regulations are not the cure for the problem.
So, please do get back with the rest of the information and provide us with your analysis.