Not happy with what I saw, not happy with what I did

[SharpMomOfTwo]

I was on my way to Marshalls after work today to return a shirt, and saw a woman driving a mini van, with her 2-3 year old child jumping and bouncing around the car, right next to her. I got so upset, the girl was so little - I just yelled out the window "CARSEAT!!!!" The woman jumped, looked at me, and then drove away. I wanted to turn around so I could follow them and get their tag number, but with the traffic, I couldn't. I was going to call the police and let them know, but I didn't really know what to say.... I didn't know which way they were going, or even the make of the car - just that it was a blue mini van - around here that discribes every other car.

I just don't understand how a parent can allow their child to be free in a moving car. The kid was so close to the front windshield, if they had been hit from behind, she would have gone flying through it.



Now that school is starting tomorrow, I remember how many kids in my daughters pre-k class just jump out of the car and run into the school - no car seat, no seat belt. Yeah, everyone lives less than a mile from the school, and everyone is going about 30mph, but is that an excuse????

Anyway, I just wish there had been more that I could have done when I saw that little girl jumping around the moving car today. Maybe I should have called the cops and told them all I knew - I just didn't know much, and didn't want to sound like some crazy lady, KWIM.

 

[disney1990]

I would have taken down the license plate number and a description of the car and called the police. I have done it in the past and would do it again.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

I would have taken down the license plate number and a description of the car and called the police. I have done it in the past and would do it again.

Like I said, I wasn't able to. I couldn't turn around, and they sped off.

 

[coolbeans]

I work at a bank and every so often we see little ones out of carseats, seatbelts just roaming around the car in the drive thru, we have been told by the police that we can call the regular 911 with as much info as possible and they will get em.. we have cameras in the drive thru so they can't really deny it.. it's sooo frustrating, especially seeing that the driver usually has their seatbelt on.. try not to think about it. (I know that isn't easy)

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I called the regular police (non-emergency) dispatch line one day a few years ago with a very similar situation and the dispatcher asked me if I wanted to press charges I just sat there for a second and thought, should I have to press charges??? I just told her that I thought it was a safety concern and that someone should know about it

 

[lillygator]

not that it is an excuse to not be restrained but in FL after age three they do not have to be in a sep carrier.

 

[nskjerven]

not that it is an excuse to not be restrained but in FL after age three they do not have to be in a sep carrier.

WOW That freaks me out. Your little one could be rocketed thru the window in an accident. I KNOW you have car seats. I'm just shocked that FL doesn't have protection laws for this issue!!! (write to your congressperson, please

 

[lillygator]

WOW That freaks me out. Your little one could be rocketed thru the window in an accident. I KNOW you have car seats. I'm just shocked that FL doesn't have protection laws for this issue!!! (write to your congressperson, please

honestly, it is crazy.
Haley's daycare director is big on this, she is one equipped to install car seats and just cringes when parents are so quick to throw out the booster.


what gets me is why is it ok on busses to not have seatbelts or require car seats?

 

[nskjerven]

I know the bus thing freaks me out too. I'm that parent that always goes on the field trips

 

[MrsPete]

I was on my way to Marshalls after work today to return a shirt, and saw a woman driving a mini van, with her 2-3 year old child jumping and bouncing around the car, right next to her. I got so upset, the girl was so little - I just yelled out the window "CARSEAT!!!!"

I hate to say it, but that was probably wasted effort on your part. That woman KNEW her child wasn't restrained -- she didn't care. Shame on her.

Anytime I see this, I remember when my first child and I were in a wreck on the way home from work one evening. In that split-second when I KNEW the wreck was going to happen, and I KNEW I couldn't avoid it, THE LAST THOUGHT that went through my mind was, "My child is in a good car seat, and she's as safe as I could possibly make her." I had no thought whatsoever that I might be hurt or that my car might be ruined. In that split second, I knew that I could do nothing, and it was ALL about the car seat being there for her. Just for the record, the car was totalled. The car seat was cracked, but my nine-month old daughter was unharmed. The next day I bought a car seat identical to the one that definitely saved her from harm and possibly saved her life.

not that it is an excuse to not be restrained but in FL after age three they do not have to be in a sep carrier.

A couple years ago (when our state's laws changed) I read the whole car seat law. I was shocked to see that you're only required to restrain your child IF your car comes equipped with seat belts. So if you drove an old 1950s car that came without seat belts, you'd be perfectly legal NOT to use a car seat. Also, you're not required to have enough seat belts for your children -- you're only required to use as many as you have. For example, my car has five seat belts. If I had four children, I would be legally required to buckle them all in (because I have belts for myself + four). But if I had five children, I could LEGALLY leave one unbelted because I don't have enough seat belts for myself + five. That's insane, but it's law.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I would have taken down the license plate number and a description of the car and called the police. I have done it in the past and would do it again.

I did that last year & posted it on the Dis & then was told it was none of my business.

 

[MrsPete]

what gets me is why is it ok on busses to not have seatbelts or require car seats?

I read an engineering report on this once, and it convinced me that this isn't an issue at all:

Busses are designed differently. They sit up high and are heavier than anything else on the road, so they're very, very unlikely to be crushed in the same way a car can be crushed. In case of an accident, the high seat backs are designed to stop kids from being thrown around in the bus. IF the bus is in a crash, the child may be thrown against the seat in front of him, but he will slide down and hit the floor, but he will not go through a windshield (assuming he's not in one of the two front seats). Throw in the bus' slow speed, and you have a vehicle that's considerably safer than your car -- even without belts. IF the bus turns over, children would be hurt badly, BUT the bus is so bottom-heavy that it could really only turn over if it fell over a bridge or a cliff. Busses have been designed for safety.

The greatest danger in a bus is that the child will be hurt getting on or off; those big steps are tough for little legs. The idea that a small child could be hit by a passing car trying to get around a bus is also realistic, as is the idea that a bus driver could hit a small child whom he or she didn't see. But a crash in a bus just isn't something to worry about, not in the grand scheme of things.

 

[J/T Gramdma]

Just last school year,Loudoun County in Northern Va, bought 10 school buses with seat belts It was 10,000 dollars more for the seat belts. People held big conversations about whether the kids would use them. Bus drivers could not make or ask any child to use them. 95% of the kids on the first day buckled up. They plan to but new buses every year to replace the old ones and all the new buses will have seat belts. They did the research and determined that seat belts work even in school buses, it just takes more money for each bus.

 

[yoopermom]

Also, you're not required to have enough seat belts for your children -- you're only required to use as many as you have. For example, my car has five seat belts. If I had four children, I would be legally required to buckle them all in (because I have belts for myself + four). But if I had five children, I could LEGALLY leave one unbelted because I don't have enough seat belts for myself + five. That's insane, but it's law.

I see that all the time up here, and it drives me crazy. Alot of people drive pickups with just the one bench seat, so only have three seat belts. They'll have four/five/?? kids/adults in there, and as long as the three are belted, they're "supposedly" good to go. (NOT!)
Terri

 

[lemondog]

It really astounds me how many people I see driving around with LITTLE ones (toddler age) just rolling around in the backseat. Once I was next to a car on the interstate and a little baby (maybe around 1yr.) was sitting in the lady's lap in the front seat as they sped down the freeway! I swear, are people that uneducated, or just that stupid????

My good friend is black and she says it's a cultural thing down here (I am in the South). She has a 5yo and she gets on her mom and dad ALL the time because they'll just dump her DD in the backseat and drive around like it's no big deal. They just don't think it's a big deal, even though they are well aware of the laws.

BTW, it's a law in TN that a child must be restrained in 5pt. harness thru a certain weight, then in a booster up to their 9th bday. So there is NO excuse for little ones not to be in carseats (much less not even buckled in at all).

 

[LoveKermit]

And while I totally agree with all of you, and am the same way (my parents live 3 blocks away, through the neighborhood (no main streets) and I still hook up DD)--how did we ever survive our years without seats?

I remember packing 4 or 5 of us neighborhood kids in the backseat to go to the movies. Now, more cars and more moms have to go because no one wants to move carseats, or has room. We were actually a little more" green" then, though our cars weren't, but I digress.

Still, I'm not saying I would ever do it. But somehow we all managed to survive.....(same goes for bike helmets).

 

[EMom]

And while I totally agree with all of you, and am the same way (my parents live 3 blocks away, through the neighborhood (no main streets) and I still hook up DD)--how did we ever survive our years without seats?

I remember packing 4 or 5 of us neighborhood kids in the backseat to go to the movies. Now, more cars and more moms have to go because no one wants to move carseats, or has room. We were actually a little more" green" then, though our cars weren't, but I digress.

Still, I'm not saying I would ever do it. But somehow we all managed to survive.....(same goes for bike helmets).

Not to put too fine a point on it, but there's a flaw in that logic. The ones who were thrown from the car, died or whose head injuries left them severely brain-damaged aren't that likely to be posting on the DIS these days.

No, not everyone survived. They're just not around to point out, "Hey, the lack of a seatbelt killed me."

 

[bigmerle1966]

And while I totally agree with all of you, and am the same way (my parents live 3 blocks away, through the neighborhood (no main streets) and I still hook up DD)--how did we ever survive our years without seats?

I remember packing 4 or 5 of us neighborhood kids in the backseat to go to the movies. Now, more cars and more moms have to go because no one wants to move carseats, or has room. We were actually a little more" green" then, though our cars weren't, but I digress.

Still, I'm not saying I would ever do it. But somehow we all managed to survive.....(same goes for bike helmets).

When we were little most cars were made out of steel, not fiberglass. And an accident then might have just dented the car while these days the same thing could total it.

 

[Shutterbug]

When we were little most cars were made out of steel, not fiberglass. And an accident then might have just dented the car while these days the same thing could total it.

..and I will say cars today are more safe than they were of yesteryear. I know my 2004 car has plenty of metal in it.

I remember growing up and taking a cross country trip. My Dad actually took out the back seat all together and put in special storage area that we sat on instead. So we couldnt even use the seat belts.

 

[HM]

I can relate to the OP.
I followed a Subaru Outback yesterday. In the "way back" was a child lying down, throwing things around...we'd see his/her arm fly up in the window every now and then. In the back seat was a small child, between two adults, obviously not strapped in, because she/he could look around at the kid in the way back.
My DD14 and I had a big discussion about that car's passengers. We wished we were a cop, so that they could be stopped. We talked about how it's too bad we can't do a "citizens arrest" for child endangerment for all those adults (particularly the driver). As it was, we just let it out verbally...and when we turned off the road, didn't think about it again. It's just too bad, that all people don't watch out for their kids like the majority.