From what I know, we are our own worst enemies with regard to the Nanny State.
I feel we have developed a bit of a victim-type mentality, where we constantly seek to place personal responsibility beyond ourselves and onto A.N. Other. If the tiniest part of that responsibility fails - we sue. This is why so many health and safety laws exist.
I have yet another example of this. (truth be told, I've got hundreds!). If you have a lad aged between 8 - 10 and he plays for a local football team, who is responsible for getting him to the Sunday game, staying with him whilst he plays and taking him home? Now, you might logically and reasonably say 'the parents', but I know of one case where a kid's team was given a superb piece of land upon which the local councils built a pitch. It was about 40yds from a road. The road was not busy by any stretch of the imagination, but there had been a non-fatal accident on it. The parents were up in arms about the location of the pitch - somehow they seemed to think that their child's safety in respect of this road was the council's responsibility.
So, this in turn implies that they would either let their child go to the match alone - crossing a road they seemed so concerned about - or would allow them to somehow run away (40yds) whilst there - and probably with the parent standing by doing nothing Jeez!!
Some health and safety laws are very necessary, but it is our propensity to sue that is causing the dafter ones to creep in.