To Have Horrified By This And Refused To Get In Car?

[GoldenGytha]

I was out for lunch today with a friend, her niece and niece's two boys aged 4 and 1.

It was about a 20 minute drive along the dual carriageway to the place we went to for lunch, but after that friend's niece wanted to go to Matalan for some clothes for a forthcoming holiday.

When we got back into the car after lunch, Matalan was about a 5 minute drive back along the dual carriageway and niece told the 4 year old to just sit in his seat and not bother about his seatbelt as it was "only a couple of minutes along the road" She also didn't strap the baby into his seat.

I said "You can't do that, you must strap them both in, it's not safe" I was rather abruptly told that it was not my business, they'd be fine for all the distance they were going. I said I couldn't get in a car where a child wasn't safely strapped in, and that I was very uncomfortable with it.

After a lot of muttering and "FFS Golden, what a fuss to make about nothing, are you always this bad, and if it makes you fucking happy I'll strap them in"

I don't normally go about telling folk what to do with their kids, but this really shocked me, WIBU to have said something?

[Pianissimopleeeeease]

Yadnbu! More like a guardian angel to those poor kids.

Your friend's niece is ignorant and careless. What a daft and irresponsible attitude. Feel sorry for her dc.

[nennypops]

60,000 lives saved since seatbelt laws came in.

But, hey, why should we care about 60,000 lives when we should be thinking about Syria.

[beershuffle]

There are two meanings of onanist, the second being a masturbating man. A wanker, if you will.

[YetAnotherHelenMumsnet]

ho-kay...

i am doing a BIG COUGH.

[YoureBeingASillyBilly]

Are you doing a big search on certain poster's credentials aswell helen?

[PrincessBabyCat]

My friend in high school had a rule with his car. He would not drive anywhere until each and every one of us was buckled in. Even the person in the middle seat. His logic was that he'd rather hear us grumble than have us killed if we were in an accident.

Anyway, yes, you had every right to say something. I don't let my husband drive his car with his buddies until they're all buckled up. I open the door and put my feet out until they do it. They grumble and mock me, but at least they're safe. :)

[OldVikingDudeHidMyTubeSocks]

Is Julia some sort of random generator bot? She/he/it makes no sense...

[Passmethecrisps]

My FIL very innocently asked was it not ok for me just to hold our year old dd so he could drive us the mile home from our pub lunch. The answer was a gentle but firm no.

I am not intending to bate any trolls but I would reckon that the parents of those children dying in conflict which is not of their making would also strap their children in to a car as they can see on a daily basis just how precious and perilous life is.

[lionheart]

Is it half term or summit?

[YouTheCat]

I'd like to suggest that 'JuliaParker25' goes and does their revision.

[Passmethecrisps]

Does anyone se just feel weird being in a car without being belted? I regularly move our cars around from the drive to the street and always belt up.

I am clearly an onanist

[pluCaChange]

One of the things I most hate about being a suburbanite is all the fecking driving!

I also find that the short ranges and familiar territory encourage an opportunistic style of driving, which can be dangerous.

[JonesRipley]

My DCs have a slight thing for those Police Catch Scum programmes on Channel 5 and I saw one the other day where a dad was taking 11 people home from party a few hundred Yards away, including about 6 children. Not one of them restrained


This was in Leeds or somewhere, so I think It's Ok to mention it here.

[EverythingsDozy]

"Julia" is peculiar (and it rhymes so it must be true!)
I can't understand the link between Ukraine and Syria and car seats. I'm just not seeing it. Yes, the goings on in those countries are awful but people aren't not going to use car seats because of the issues in Ukraine, are they? Are they?!

[slithytove]

Please don't delete the thread though Helenmumsnet, can you just delete the troll's Julia's posts? Cos she is completely derailing it and it makes for annoying reading.

Can you tell it's Friday night?!

[qazxc]

YANBU.
She was putting everyone in the car at risk by not strapping in the children. The children (for obvious reasons) but also the other people in the car, if there were to be an impact/accident the children could cause injury to the remaining passengers .

[Bunbaker]

This clarifies the law about seat belts and booster seats.

Does your friend think she is above the law?

I am also that she put her own seat belt on and not her children's.

[thebodydoestricks]

Hi op. Good in you.

My dd was in a school trip when the coach crashed. She was wearing a belt because it had been drilled into her all her life to do so.

It snapped under huge stress as she went through her window but thankfully she survived.

Others did not and died or suffered very serious injuries.some were not belted in. Some belts jammed.

However I am eternally glad dd had hear on as it saved her life. Fact.

I would like your neice to google dds accident scene. Feel free it's online as school ski coach crash.

And while she does tell her she's a massive twat from me and to protect her kids now and in the future.

Thanks.

[spiderlight]

Good for you. YANBU at all! And as for the attitude that it's only a few minutes' drive - my friend's mum thought the same when pushing friend's baby son from the car to the house in his buggy. She tripped, he fell out and broke his nose and still has a scar across the bridge of it.

I regularly see carfuls of kids being driven away at the end of the school day completely unrestrained. I just do not get why anyone would take the risk, given that it takes all of two seconds to put a seatbelt on.