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Original poster

Great. DD is getting a lift in a car with no rear seatbelts.

155 replies

SheWoreYellow · 13/11/2021 15:36

She’s a big DD, 12, not a toddler, but even so. I shared the driving with her friend’s dad to an event.

She’s texted me to say there are no seatbelts. It’s an hour drive Sad

She won’t be getting a lift with him again, but god, what a tool.

There’s no point me saying anything. I don’t know why I’m typing this really.

OP posts:
lentilsforever · 13/11/2021 18:51

But she has children
So she has a classic car and drives around her own children with no seat belts. Always?

Post 1989 car - the law

RampantIvy · 13/11/2021 19:12

@etulosba

We have a car with no seatbelts at all. I always make this absolutely clear if giving lifts. Surprisingly, some parents are happy for their children to ride in it.
Why? Is it a classic car? Why haven't you had any fitted?
JKDinomum · 13/11/2021 19:24

@lentilsforever

You know what For some reason I am angry

You knew your daughter was in danger.

You chose to start a thread on mumsnet
When there was very obviously something you could have done

Told him to go to a station immediately
If he said he wouldn’t, call police
If he did and dropped, call police and they would have auctioned as per above

There was a solution
Instead you navel gazed on mumsnet

So yeah, I suppose I’m a bit…Shock more than anything

So you think phoning or texting someone who obviously has little regard for safety rules when driving would have been a good idea? He sounds exactly like the type who would answer the phone with one hand on the wheel and one eye on the road.

I suppose the only way round it would be to phone DD and tell her to put on speaker phone so you could speak to the dad and tell him to stop. But it's easy to think of these things in hindsight.
Also there's no guarantee he would agree to stop, or what his reaction would be, and making someone angry when they are driving your unsecured daughter in the car also could be a risky strategy.

MauveMavis · 13/11/2021 19:32

@RampantIvy can't speak for the other classic car owner but our family classic doesn't have seatbelts as getting decent ones fitted is really difficult and destroys the historic integrity. This matters a lot. The car has been in our family since it was bought used at 1 year old in 1961.

It's a show car now so only really gets driven to vintage car shows and back again (and in and out of my DF's garage to be polished and shined within an inch of its life).

As a teen I was desperate to drive it but as a 40 something I find doing so so fucking terrifying that I avoid it if at all possible - it has no seatbelts, adjusting the front seat requires a spanner, you can't adjust the angle of the back rest at all and there is only one rear view mirror. The brakes aren't very good and the steering is stupidly heavy. I'm also not very good at all at using the choke so often can't get the bloody thing to start.

My DF and DBro love to wind me up by telling me it is the only car I can possibly borrow when I visit (they are both major petrol heads and have several cars that I prefer to drive... )

RampantIvy · 13/11/2021 19:34

Thank you for your explanation @MauveMavis. I must admit that it surprises me that anyone would give a lift to other people's DC in a car that has no seatbelts. I think it is extremely irresponsible.

SkankingMopoke · 13/11/2021 20:49

[quote MauveMavis]@RampantIvy can't speak for the other classic car owner but our family classic doesn't have seatbelts as getting decent ones fitted is really difficult and destroys the historic integrity. This matters a lot. The car has been in our family since it was bought used at 1 year old in 1961.

It's a show car now so only really gets driven to vintage car shows and back again (and in and out of my DF's garage to be polished and shined within an inch of its life).

As a teen I was desperate to drive it but as a 40 something I find doing so so fucking terrifying that I avoid it if at all possible - it has no seatbelts, adjusting the front seat requires a spanner, you can't adjust the angle of the back rest at all and there is only one rear view mirror. The brakes aren't very good and the steering is stupidly heavy. I'm also not very good at all at using the choke so often can't get the bloody thing to start.

My DF and DBro love to wind me up by telling me it is the only car I can possibly borrow when I visit (they are both major petrol heads and have several cars that I prefer to drive... )[/quote]
Getting sidetracked here now I know, but my classic originally had non-tensioned belts in the front and no belts in the back where the seating is just boxes that are sideways on. I have had tensioned belts added to the front, and a forward facing row of proper seats added to the back also with tensioned belts (so I can drive the DCs around in it). It wasn't a massive job. It's great to keep everything orginal, but sometimes things need to be fit for purpose and safe to allow them to still be used rather than become a museum piece. The kind of vehicle it is means it was very easy to do, and is a common upgrade amongst other owners too.

Slub · 13/11/2021 20:58

We have a classic RR
No rear seatbelts but cigarette lighters and vanity mirrors with lights in the rear seats.
They knew how to prioritise in those days Grin

etulosba · 13/11/2021 21:24

The law changed in 1989, making it a legal requirement for children travelling in the back of cars to wear seat belts, followed by another rule change in 1991 which dictated adult passengers must also wear seat belts in the back of cars.

Maybe you should inform the government. They obviously don’t know about the change in the law…

If your vehicle doesn’t have seat belts

If your vehicle doesn’t have seat belts, for example it’s a classic car, you aren’t allowed to carry any children under 3 years old in it.

Children over 3 are only allowed to sit in the back seats.

www.gov.uk/seat-belts-law/if-your-vehicle-doesnt-have-seat-belts

etulosba · 13/11/2021 21:28

Why?
Is it a classic car?
Why haven't you had any fitted?

Seat belts weren’t fitted in the 1950s
Yes
Because a car needs to be designed to fit seat belts. There are considerable loads to be taken into account. Ours wasn’t, so there is nowhere to fit them to.

lentilsforever · 14/11/2021 06:36

@etulosba

Why? Is it a classic car? Why haven't you had any fitted?

Seat belts weren’t fitted in the 1950s
Yes
Because a car needs to be designed to fit seat belts. There are considerable loads to be taken into account. Ours wasn’t, so there is nowhere to fit them to.

You bought this car knowing no possibility of seatbelts And you have children Shock
SirensofTitan · 14/11/2021 07:05

What a weird comment @lentilsforever, are classic cars the preserve of the childless?

lentilsforever · 14/11/2021 08:52

@SirensofTitan

What a weird comment *@lentilsforever*, are classic cars the preserve of the childless?
Absolutely not

Are cars without seatbelts in the back and no hope of retrospectively putting in AND knowing that this is the car you need to ferry your children around in?

I’d say on odd person that buys knowing the above

You disagree?

StripeyDeckchair · 14/11/2021 08:58

@TatianaBis

Try not to worry OP, we all survived the 70s with no seatbelts before it was a thing.
Well you might have done but I went through a car windscreen from the back seat & ended up injured & in hospital.

Seat belts are a non negotiable for me; I'd make it clear to them how irresponsible they were & I would tell the other parents & the police.

etulosba · 14/11/2021 09:00

You bought this car knowing no possibility of seatbelts

I did. I’m older and perhaps view risk from a different perspective than people born later. I can remember the grumbling from my elders when the national speed limit was introduced on British roads.

And you have children

No, I don’t. However, I can confirm that many classic car owners do.

lentilsforever · 14/11/2021 09:01

* We have a car with no seatbelts at all. I always make this absolutely clear if giving lifts. Surprisingly, some parents are happy for their children to ride in it.*

This somewhat gave the impression, especially given the crux of this thread, that you do.

Hardbackwriter · 14/11/2021 09:05

No, I don’t. However, I can confirm that many classic car owners do.

They might, but surely almost no one has a classic car as their only vehicle?

etulosba · 14/11/2021 09:08

This somewhat gave the impression, especially given the crux of this thread, that you do.

I’m not sure how. Particularly as I mention my surprise that some parents are happy to let their children ride in a car with no seat belts.

etulosba · 14/11/2021 09:10

They might, but surely almost no one has a classic car as their only vehicle?

Some people do but it certainly isn’t the norm.

Kitkat151 · 14/11/2021 09:26

@TatianaBis

Try not to worry OP, we all survived the 70s with no seatbelts before it was a thing.
Your reassurance comment is bollocks OP posted that DD was home before 1615....yet you posted your fuckwit comment at1634hrs
lentilsforever · 14/11/2021 09:30

@etulosba

This somewhat gave the impression, especially given the crux of this thread, that you do.

I’m not sure how. Particularly as I mention my surprise that some parents are happy to let their children ride in a car with no seat belts.

A thread about a parent giving a lift in a car with no seat belts And you say you always make clear if giving lifts to children that yours doesn’t have seatbelts

And you think that doesn’t give the impression you have children? Confused

RampantIvy · 14/11/2021 09:39

@etulosba

They might, but surely almost no one has a classic car as their only vehicle?

Some people do but it certainly isn’t the norm.

I doubt that people who have a classic car as their only vehicle have young children though. Most classic car owners have a day to day car and a classic car as a hobby.

The law is pretty clear on keeping small children safe in vehicles, as has been mentioned upthread www.gov.uk/seat-belts-law/if-your-vehicle-doesnt-have-seat-belts

TatianaBis · 14/11/2021 10:32

Your reassurance comment is bollocks. OP posted that DD was home before 1615....yet you posted your fuckwit comment at1634hrs

And I hadn’t seen the update.

SomePosters · 14/11/2021 10:37

@TatianaBis

Try not to worry OP, we all survived the 70s with no seatbelts before it was a thing.
Not everyone did though… that’s the point ffs!
etulosba · 14/11/2021 11:25

And you think that doesn’t give the impression you have children?

Yes. I could go on to explain my reasons why. But, quite frankly, I can’t be bothered.

etulosba · 14/11/2021 11:27

Most classic car owners have a day to day car and a classic car as a hobby.

That is what I said.

The law is pretty clear on keeping small children safe in vehicles, as has been mentioned upthread www.gov.uk/seat-belts-law/if-your-vehicle-doesnt-have-seat-belts

I know. I posted the link.