What is the right thing to do? Who do you call?

[MichelleVW]

I wouldn't have done anything. It wasn't the safest choice, but it wasn't deserving of calling the police on them either.

agreed.

 

[luvmy3]

there was just a terrible accident here,same kind of car, 7 or 8 people in it, several children,
very tragic sad story.
just happened friday, if you google fatal crash i 84 sturbridge ma

We passed that accident (not when it happened) on our way to NH. It looks like the driver was killed and a child and another adult that was not wearing a seatbelt were ejected but alive. There were 4 other kids in the car, 3 of them had their belt on (one was an 18month old so I don't know if they were in a seat or not), they all have minor injuries amazingly. Very sad.

 

[DizBelle]

I just thought of something that happened to us that kind of relates to this thread. Our car broke down on the a state parkway in the middle of nowhere, so no cell service, and luckily a State Trooper had driven by. He let us all pack in his car (along with all our stuff because we were going on a trip ) and drove us to a diner off the next exit. So people there would have seen us all piling out of the car, dh was in front but the rest of us were in the back, ds on my lap with the belt around both of us. Definitely not legal since he still needs a seat wonder who they could have called?

(on the bolded) BAD, BAD, BAD idea. What do you think will happen to your DS if there is an impact that pushes you into DS and then DS into the seatbelt? SIGNIFICANT internal injuries. Sliced in half if the impact is great enough. It is much, much safer to have him on your lap but not in the same seatbelt. The seatbelts are designed for a single passenger and that is how they should be used.

 

[DisneyLover83]

I have a question, and I honestly mean no snark...would you think about calling the police if you saw an adult driving without a seatbelt? Is it because they are kids and not responsible for their own decisions?
In answer to your OP, I would not call the police. They were parked. If we were speeding down the highway, and I saw them bouncing around the back- maybe. It would be a tough one.

I could care less if an adult doesn't wear their seatbelt.

Since the car was parked and you never saw it move they did nothing wrong.

Calling the HP about a parked vehicle that you never saw move would not be the right thing to do.

I agree with both of you, I did not call the HP becuase I personally never saw the car move. For me it was one of those things where you find yourself thinking about it later. I mainly hope that those children made it safely to their destination.... I'm a worrier by nature I tend to think of the worst things, like that car in a bad accident and those children killed and I knew they were not in seats or restrained. Thanks for everyone's thoughts!

 

[ckay87]

We used to pile in a car, station wagon, whatever, as many of us as could fit with no seatbelts at all. Don't know how any of us lived to see another day with all the concerns of today.

I'm sorry, but this argument becomes lame and old very quickly. The institution of health and safety measures is not inherently bad. Many many people "lived to see another day" before the development of antibiotics or vaccinations, for example. Progress is not necessarily bad. And THIS issue....come on. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that flying unrestrained all over a vehicle in a car crash just can't be good. My aunt had that happen - would you like to know the gory details of what happens to your body during THAT ride?

Count me in as one who took many trips in the back of a pickup truck (Allentown, PA - Lynchburg, VA, thank you very much ), but in retrospect I'm appalled that anyone thought that was a good idea, ever. I'm not glorifying the memory of it.

To the OP, however.....I would not have called the police . But that's just me.

 

[need2cruise]

When we are on car trips and stop at a gas station to eat, get gas, etc---we will fold our 3rd row down so the kids can picnic in the back together and then clean up and then everyone settle back down and hit the road. We never drive and eat at the same time--not safe at all!

Dh works for HP and if he sees anything like this, he deals harshly with it. He hates to see children unrestrained. Yet, he doesn't like to ticket over seat belts on an adult since they should have the right to choose for theirself.

However, on the flip side, when he's off duty and sees kids sitting with just an adult lap belt on (if they should be in a booster) or unrestrained older child, he doesn't call and report unless its something more serious going on (like one time there was a 6 year old standing and hanging out a moon roof on a car going down the highway).

Personally, I would love to call and report, seen too many kids in the ER after being hurt in an accident. But I also know how hard it is on a police officer to keep up with all those types of calls!