AIBU for forcing this woman to wear a seatbelt?

[CGaus]

I was on a 14 seater minibus today on the way to the ski fields. We drove along one of Australia’s most dangerous, icy alpine roads. Before driving, the driver asked if everyone had a seatbelt on - most people said yes, but the driver didn’t get out and check each person’s seatbelt.

We got to a snow chain checkpoint, and I noticed that two women in their 20s or 30s weren’t wearing seatbelts.
This is in Australia, it’s illegal not to wear a seatbelt - though only the driver (not the passengers without seatbelts) would have been fined $564 or £321 and given 6 demerit points. Apart from that wearing a seatbelt is obviously important for safety.

I said to the women in a friendly tone “sorry but you’ve forgotten to put your seatbelt on!”. The response was “um no I’m fine”. I said that the driver could be fined if passengers weren’t wearing seatbelts, she said “okay” really slowly. I then added “it’s also really dangerous”...and this time she just looked away and didn’t say anything, I then heard the women speaking with each other about it. I let it go, and decided to bring it up to the driver when we arrived - it wasn’t possible to speak to him without shouting from where I was sitting at the back of the bus.

The bus pulled over again for a random breath test, again I asked the women to please put their belts on, much more assertively than before and loudly enough that the driver could hear. The driver heard me and checked that everyone was wearing belts, probably because there were coppas a metre away for the breath checks. Once we passed the checkpoint though one of the women took her belt off again! I was genuinely shocked and just said “seriously” in what I admit was a rude manner. So AIBU for asking an adult to wear a seatbelt?!

So AIBU for insisting a grown woman wear a seatbelt? And should I bother saying anything on the return journey? The driver can’t see the entire bus properly and his eyes need to be on the road!

you definitely sound like a busybody.

A busybody who could have saved someone's life had there been an accident.

SchadenfreudePersonified

We could all go round "potentially saving lives" and interfering with everyone else's business. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

OP perfectly reasonable, not just for the person but for others. Not a busybody.

you definitely sound like a busybody

Actually, now CGaus does seem brave and powerful to me. I respect those who muster the courage to speak up. I bet you aren't the only one one mini-bus who wish those women would tow the line and belt-up.

@TwinkulTwinkle

Both. Thanks.

@drspouse

Thanks for you and your very telling moniker proving my point. I assume you aren't a policeman and are therefore just a busybody in a car park. What a ...

But Pengggwn, if those two women in question what to be so independent? autonomous? Why take public transport ? Why not hire a car and drive themselves - then if they wanted, for example, a Thelma and Louise style ending. There would be no-one around to 'interfere in their business'. The OP hasn't come on here to report and comment on the women's private conversations whilst on the bus - she's only bothered by what they are doing that is affecting other people's enjoyment/safety.

Was just going to mention the crash in NZ a couple of weeks ago but someone beat me to it. Awful thing to happen, and those shuttles don’t tend to have belts. I imagine there will be a huge overhaul for next season.

I’ve just come back from Queenstown and our driver made a real point about ensuring everyone was strapped in as the roads are lethal.

She was a dick.

@TwinkulTwinkle
Both. Thanks.

@littleFearofHumans
No, I used 3 adjectives to describe you - which two are you taking?

Anyway, it's Saturday morning (UK) - I have to go out soon - have a good weekend and try to be nice.

You are 100% NBU and they are utter dicks.

If they don't want to wear seatbelts then they can fuck off and get their own transport, not put the bus driver's licence at risk.

In fact, if I were the bus driver in question, I'd have them off the bus unless they wore them (AND I'd be grateful to you for looking out for everyone else on the bus)

The first post by littlefear has been deleted and now I’m dying to know what being slim, happily married and senior management has to do with this thread. Seems like such a non-sequitur!

Oh and YANBU. I don’t understand why anyone would keep putting their seatbelt on and taking it off again. Sounds incredibly childish!

YWDNBU, but I wouldn't have had the guts to say anything.

If there's a crash and the seatbelt-less woman is injured then it's her own fault.

That would be fair enough if these stupid women were only being a risk to themselves, but that wasn't the case.

Ha. Has it. God knows why.

TwinkulTwinkle

I don't think being present in a public place gives strangers the right to order you about. The OP was entitled to tell the driver. The driver was entitled to insist.

The driver should’ve put them both off the bus. It’s their professional status that’s at risk and I doubt the ticket price covers the fine for non-seatbelt wearing.

YANBU

I don’t want to be around idiots like this becoming potential projectiles fo hurt me, my family or another stranger.

Dds cousin stayed with us a few times. She’s older so from around age 13. I had to regularly tell her to put her seatbelt on correctly - she used to put the shoulder strap behind her. I think some people are more safety conscious than others so perhaps her parents didn’t notice. When you have families like this, you grow up with different ideas. Not that if applied with me as there were no rear seatbelts or minibus seatbelts when I was a child.

sweetheart Probably under 3 as I didn't recognise them from my DD's room at nursery but it's still unsafe.

What country are you in drspouse where it’s illegal to give a lift to a child without a car seat?

No YANBU, especially if you are the person who gets fined. Some people are just uncooperative for the sake of it, I fear.

'No seat belt, no ride' should be your policy unless a passenger has health reasons which they can verify.

I probably wouldn’t have noticed them

On some states in the USA seatbelts are not a legal requirement.

@Loore Actually there is skiing in Tasmania too.

Iam I'm in the UK.
I spoke up not just because it's illegal (I actually didn't know it was semi-legal in the UK over 3) but because it's unsafe, and the parent was putting the child at risk and the other occupants of the car (including the child of the driver who was in a car seat).
I've got no way to know if the journey was short (they didn't say "but the child is over 3 and it's a short and unexpected journey.
The other test though is if the journey is "necessary" and when I refused to go away the parent took their child to catch a bus. So clearly that option was always there and the journey was not necessary. Just convenient but unsafe.

Yanbu! But I had no idea that Australia had snow!

I’m also here just to know how / why someone got in ‘I’m slim’ to this thread

You were completely in the right. If the bus driver had to brake suddenly then there was a risk that she would be flung into the seat infront with the force of a 2 ton elephant braking the back or killing the passenger in front of her.