How sad.........3 boys dead, 4 critical...............

[Gwenick]

on their way to celebrate their friends birthday party

here

But why did the women have 7 boys plus herself in a 5 seater car

[fairydust]

[Janh]

Oh, was it a 5-seater? I've heard this on the news on and off all day and I've been wondering about that - a car full of 12-13 year old boys is no picnic even if you do have the right number of seats.

Awful, awful, awful. Can't imagine how bad anybody connected feels tonight.

[Gobbledigook]

In a 5 seater car, 8 people cannot have been wearing seatbelts....

[peckarollover]

Oh god, that has made me feel sick.

Just thinking about the parents who waved their kids off never to see them again. How awful

[Gwenick]

It says it was a 5 seater in the article

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Heard this on the radio last night - dreadful .

[hermykne]

omg, thats awful
five teenage girls killed in ireland last week on a school bus coming home, 2 other cars involved and there has been calls for seatbelts on school buses

[strugstu]

it breaks my heart- its such a cruel world

[potty1]

2 little ones involved in an accident near us last weekend - both thrown from the car and are critical. And a boy my son went to school with was killed on Friday night in an RTA - he was the driver, his two passengers injured

[WestCountryLass]

According to the report I read, three of the boys were in the front seat

[ChaCha]

This accident happened very near my home - Its awful. I can't imagine the loss. A friend and I were just discussing this last night. Nothing in life is that important, we just don't know our fate. Those poor kids.

[feelingold]

This is so so tragic.
My dh is a firefighter and has been to so many RTA's where peoples lives have been saved by wearing their seatbelts and seen people killed because they were not.
Please everyone, lets all learn from this and make sure that we all tell our families and friends how important it is we all wear them everytime we go out in our cars.
I also would not let my kids go in a car or a bus where seatbelts were not available.

[MarsLady]

I get so cross about the seatbelt issue. I don't drive and when my kids go in other people's cars I make sure that they are belted up. They know to do it automatically and sometimes I find it's the ones who have been driven everywhere that don't use their seat belts.

It's so sad that those people have lost their lives and families over something that may have been prevented.

[albert]

I thought the law states that you HAVE to wear seatbelts! I'm not in England so might be wrong.
I read about this tragic story yesterday and cannot even begin to imagine how dreadful the families must feel. It is so so sad. DH said if anything like that happend to DS he would kill himself!

[scottishmumto1]

yes you do have to wear seatbelts, everyone in a vehicle does.
this story is just terrible. what was the mother thinking of. she needs to be charged, even though she will punish herself for the rest of her life. we all know in this day and age what seatbelts are for.
i wouldnt move 2 feet without mt dd being securely strapped in.
prayers to the families of th echildren who lost their lifes and the ones that are injured

[tallulah]

Its not strictly true that everyone in a vehicle has to wear a seat belt. The last time I checked it was that all seat belts had to be used.. When you have 8 people in a 5 seater (and 5 seat belt) car you have 3 people who can't be strapped in.

[misdee]

i think overloading a car is against the law tho.

[SoupDragon]

You are only allowed to carry as many people as there are seats/the car was designed for. To carry more is illegal and probably invalidates your insurance.

Seatbelts are compulsory where fitted.

[scottishmumto1]

tallulah

which planet are you on

yes yes yes every one has to wear a seatbelt

how irresponible if you dont

[Caligula]

SMT1, what Tallulah was saying was that where there are no seatbelts fitted, you obviously don't have to wear them.

There are still cars on the road which do not have seatbelts fitted. Very old now, but there are still some. That's one of the reasons the speed limits and braking distances still apply - because although most modern cars will brake much much earlier than the official braking distance, laws have to be geared towards the cranky old vehicles which do take ages to brake and which would be extraordinarily dangerous if they went at 80mph.

I just get very angry with this sort of story because it was all so avoidable. 8 people in a five vehicle car on a motorway is an idiotic idea. And presumably the subsequent pile-up happened because of not observing stopping distances. Otherwise, the people in the cars behind would have time to brake. Bloody awful for everyone concerned.

[shalaa]

Scottishmum, I think Tallulah was just saying that you can only strap in 5 people if there's only 5 seatbelts, therefore it was impossible for all the boys to be wearing seatbelts.

[Xena]

I get very annoyed about the seatbelt thing too, what the hell are they doing with 8 people in a 5 seater car??

[scottishmumto1]

if its a 5 seater car then you're only allowed 5 people in it, not 8, 1seat/1seat belt/1person, there's not many cars on the road now without seatbelts fitted, I for one would not buy one, I certainly wouldn't take kids in one

[MumOf10]

Well Shalla,

Why was she taking 8 children in a car if it was only had 5 seats.

Very irresponsible.

[shalaa]

Erm am I meant to be answering that?? I was just clarifying what Tallulah said, you can't have 8 people wearing seatbelts when it's a five people car. In no way did I say or suggest that the mother was being sensible in driving 8 boys.