OK, so the feds fell down on the job of inspecting BP's oil rig last year. Maybe that would have prevented the accident. Maybe not. What is clear is that the oil company fell down on following its own safety procedures, procedures that exist to protect its employees, its investment, and the environment.

With or without government oversight, oil companies have strong incentives to run their drilling operations in a manner that doesn't end with them blowing up and killing workers, not to mention the costs of losing all that oil and cleaning up the mess they made.

This accident will cost BP billions in fines, in lost revenue and in legal claims. Those who were responsible for ignoring standard safety procedures should be fired and/or prosecuted.

All that said, it has been years since a serious accident has occured on one of these deep water rigs. It is typical for human beings to get complacent under such circumstances. This accident will be a reminder to the rest of the industry they remain in a dangerous and high risk endeavor. Certainly the men and women who work on these rigs know that. The executives who run these companies should remember it daily.