I think it’s more of a case “fuck around, find out” but without any rules set in place they can incrementally fuck around and find out. That is to say, people tried this, some of them didn’t die, they got better at it, fewer people died, etc. Eventually you get good at managing risks. Not that they are smart risks. To a degree this makes people think and be extra careful, instead of just relying on rules to ensure their safety. Not that am implying electricians in other countries don’t think just that when rules are set in place there’s not so much of a tension and remembering whether you pissed on your slippers before working with electricity.