I’m being a nosey neighbour aren’t I, but..

[wagasallday]

A few times now I’ve seen my neighbours arrive home and get 4 kids out of their 5 seater car. Car is definitely 5 seats. Two under 3s and the other two kids are primary aged. They seem like lovely people but it is obviously horribly unsafe and I would hate for anything to happen to any of them. From what I can see it looks as though one of the older ones sits in the passenger footwell or on mum’s knee. Should I have a word with them or leave it? Also don’t want to bring about trouble but it just scares me!

DH has a work colleague with 6 family members who drives a 5-seater. Apparently 4 kids get thrown into the back. We’re horrified, but what can you do? We don’t know their address, nor have we seen it with our own eyes.

All of the things you mention are better than a child being seriously injured or killed in a car accident.

Unless they're from Mars, how would they not know it's illegal?? 🤦🏻‍♀️

More like hand one of the kids over to SS so they'll then not be breaking the law. Name out a hat to decide which of the four it will be....easy, they will then have enough seats.

What they're doing is dangerous and illegal. Report to police or social services. You wouldn't want it on your conscience if something were to happen to one of the children.

Honestly the people saying keep your nose out!! Keeping children safe from unsuitable parents is everyone’s business!! That’s the whole point of safeguarding!

@EnglishBluebell I've had to report 2 people and thankfully, 101 took it really seriously. Maybe it's dependent on your local area - I reported in the next county to me but I doubt my own county would have had the same response as they're pretty useless.

Definitely don't have a word with them. Report if you like but if you have a word and they do nothing and you then report, they'll know it was you.

We have a multimac with a baby. They do the mini mac which is a baby seat which goes in 1 of the seats. My car is a 5 seater so I’m sure you’d assume I was driving around unsafely but Multimac are quite common where I live.

Then report it to the authorities. No good will come of you talking to them.

I would and wouldn't think twice.
This is a complete no brainer.

It's difficult to prove unless the police actually stop them with all the kids in the car
We've had a few focus between us and 3 in the back is a squash
It's incredibly dangerous and frankly, they must be dumb to risk this

Report to the police - could save a child’s life. If its a misunderstanding, the police won’t bother them again. They will never know it was you who reported them, could be anyone on the street or a stranger out and about who reported them. Better to be safe than sorry.

we were driving on the m25 a year ago and saw a woman driving with a young boy (8-10) in the back with a seatbelt and a tiny baby on his lap crying. There was a car seat for the baby but baby wasn’t in it. Traffic moving at 70mph in our lane and we saw it when the driver was over taking us. I tried to report online to the police with the number plate but it needed a post code and I didn’t know where we were other than heading north on the m25 a bit beyond Heathrow. Without a post code it wouldn’t accept it so I gave up.

Exactly - if the parents are deliberately putting them in danger, its everybody’s business. Would people say the same if a child was being abused? You wouldn’t tell someone to stay out of it and not report it so why should this be any different. OP can see the model of the car and she’s certain what she saw.

Minding your own business is a lost virtue

2 parents in the car…

Don’t speak to them first! They know they should have their kids in seats but don’t care or can’t afford it. Contact the police and give them times they are all 6 in the car for them to pull them over. Of course you report

Tbh, I'd report to the police. I was behind a little hyundai a few months ago.
5 seats, 6 people in the car. A child on the lap of one of the teenagers in the back of the car. Shuffling and moving about the whole while.

I thought I was being nasty to think of reporting to the police, but it took me a while to shake the guilt.
Given that they were coming upto a nasty junction, it still plays on my mind that they could have an accident and the little child could come to significant harm because there are probably a lot of people like me, who think it's just going to cause people trouble they likely don't need.

I get that people are poor. I do. We grew up driving around in the cheapest clapped out bangers my step dad could get hold of, and there were always 6 of us in a 6 seater car. One of us was always in the foot well, but it makes me shudder to think what would happen if an accident would have happened then, or indeed now to the family in the overloaded car.

Odd quesyion, are they british?
Reason im asking is that nhs have recruited a lot of people from other countries, no big deal, but seatbelt laws there and here seem to be different.

No joke, I've seen a doctor & his wife come out off a house with a baby & babyseat, get into a taxi, put the baby in their arms and the seat in the boot, the driver had to get out and explain to them the importance of safety seats and seatbelt law. This wasnt a 1 off either, british law & non uk law can be different
Just a thought..

Don’t be ridiculous. They don’t take a child off of a family for not having them seated legally in a car. The police would give words of advice.
Just the same as they don’t always take away neglected children with unsuitable alcoholic, drug addicted parents.

Yes they would I can tell you now. If they have the officers available they will go

I've attended an under 1 year old who was ejected from a vehicle in an accident due to not being restrained. It probably happens more than you'd like to imagine.

I was thinking this.

Report to police. They won't say it was you who reported. They'll just say a member of the public raised concern.