I note that Bonzo didn't even mention any rope.

Walking kids in a crocodile is hardly a new way of shepherding them along. I imagine people have been doing it for centuries. The Romans probably borrowed the idea from the Greeks...

Sometimes the careful thing is the sensible thing. Sometimes it isn't. Use your imagination and use your head is the right way to go. Unfortunately some people don't, and that results in rules and regulations which can go too far the other way - normally because they are misinterpreted by people who still can't use their imaginations and their heads when it comes to applying them.