CRITIC'S CHOICE; A question of safety at sea;.

Mayday Channel 4, 9.00pm

SOME shipping disasters are caused by human error, others by freak conditions of nature, writes Merle Brown.

But many accidents at sea are the result of fundamental design faults, where an aspect of the ship's structure is so flawed that it can result in a crisis, and often in death.

This is the final programme in this interesting Channel Four series which has been investigating maritime disaster.

It looks at some of the most notorious examples of design flaws in recent years, from passenger ferries such as the tragic Herald of Free Enterprise, to tankers and bulk carriers and the resulting mayhem they caused.

Mayday actually reveals that if the Herald of Free Enterprise had been going just ONE knot slower, the tragedy would never have happened.

The worst passenger shipping disaster of all time took place in December 1987, with the sinking of the Dona Paz in the Philippines.

A ferry packed with travellers returning to spend Christmas with their families was steaming through the night when it was hit by a coastal tanker.

A huge fireball resulted, and the Dona Paz capsized and sank almost immediately.

Only 24 people survived. A staggering 5000 people or more were thought to have drowned - amongst them were more than 1000 children.

The Dona Paz went down so fast, almost nobody had a chance.

It is a worrying aspect of ferry travel that the boats have such a bad safety record. Over 14,000 people have died on ferries since 1980. Is there an inherent design fault?

Certainly roll-on, roll-off ferries present a considerable risk. By their very essence, they must have doors at both ends, and one long, continuous hold that isn't compartmentalised 

This means that the bow doors don't have watertight bulkheads, and the risk of water entering the hold is greater. And once water does get in, because it runs the whole length of the ship, it can have a major effect on the balance of the vessel.

It was this feature that led to the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise. In March 1987, the cross-channel ferry capsized a mile outside Zeebrugge, with the loss of 193 lives.

It later emerged that the bow doors had been left open and at a certain speed the waves overlapped the bow and into the hold.

This water caused the boat to tilt and within moments she had turned turtle. In 90 seconds she'd gone from secure to sunk.

Unfortunately, as is usually the case after maritime tragedies, the changes enforced after the Herald of Free Enterprise tragedy (such as video cameras on bow doors, passenger lists and proper boarding passes) aren't enforced on existing ships - only on new ones.

So it will be the year 2005 before they come into effect.

Road Rages

Channel 5, 8.30pm

WOMEN drivers, eh? What are they like? Well, what are they like, compared with men - and just who is the more deadly of the species when it comes down to driving?

Is it the female, or the boy racer? Channel Five plans to tell you in this edition of the Road Rages series, called The Sex Wars - and it is sure to ruffle a few feathers and cause a few fights in the house.

Filmed around Britain, it's led by a Cardiff taxi driver who claims his life is made hell by woman drivers - and certainly some of the female driving caught on camera will raise a few eyebrows.

But this is far from a one-sided story.

There is no escaping the statistics which show that 94 per cent of all motoring offences are caused by men.

Testosterone-fuelled competitiveness is likely to be a major reason for this. Well, I never.

Liz Scourfield, a laid-back female driver says: "Men take out their frustrations on their car, whereas I use driving to chill out, I think."

She comes up against at least one irate male road-user per week, and has a catalogue of gestures with which to put them in their place.

According to Liz, it's the "cheesy grin" which really gets them wound up.

Go for your life, girl. (MB)

Dad

BBC1, 8.30pm

GEORGE Cole, above, plays Dad to a tee in this hit sitcom. And in this week's episode, it's sex that's the main topic.

Nothing strange there then, as sex is the main topic of all TV these days it seems.

Anyway, sex is preoccupying Alan (Kevin McNally), but not in a way that Beryl (Julia Hills) would like it to. Instead, he's concerned about the exploits of his son, Vincent (Toby Ross Bryant), and dad Brian (George Cole).

Alan wants to ask Brian a question outright, but lacks the courage to do so, and, as ever, is worrying himself sick about his father's health.

Dad is probably quite capable of looking after himself though, and if you want advice on sex, who better to ask than good old dad? (MB)

Body Spies

BBC1, 2.55pm

IF you're lounging about the house this week, then get up off your sofa or feel guilty as you watch the Fighting Fat, Fighting Fit campaign continue on daytime TV.

Monday's programme is Body Spies - a new daily series following friends and families as they try for a month to live up their New Year resolutions.

In this episode, Newcastle lads Terry Beckham and Larry Ridley - with the help of dietician Azmina Govindji - lay plans for a four- week blitz to cut down on fatty food and the Newcastle ale.

Terry and Larry compete to see who can win the battle of the bulge, armed with a camera to catch their lapses.

For part-time rock vocalist Keith Barker, it's stress and too much coffee that are the problems.

He needs to cut down on his 20 cups of caffeine stimulation a day.

Angie and Alex Wilson are also under the spotlight - Angie for her yo- yo dieting.

And South London nursery teachers Dora and Hanna Hare are trying to avoid all-day snacking.

The programme also gives you, the viewer, the chance to phone in and register for your own help pack, which will help you fight the flab and get over the post- Christmas and New Year excesses.

What killjoys these BBC folk are. (MB)