If you saw someone driving their car down with a small child on their knee would you report them?

[Apocketfilledwithposies]

Mid morning. Residential area. A man driving with a young child on his knee.

Either dad is crap at steering or he was letting small child "help" steer as they mounted two curbs as they went around corners.

Obviously no seatbelt around small child, not sure about dad.

Would you report this? Our area has a scheme where you can send in dash cam footage of dangerous driving to the police.

Yes. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. The child in the car and any nearby pedestrians (including children) are at risk in the scenario you describe.

Those asking why I'm questioning it or why not, I think I just needed people to tell me to do it. I get so anxious about everything that sometimes I doubt my own gut feelings (I'm autistic and have a history of trauma, both of which fuels this). I also worry about repercussions, but not enough not to report. Sadly though this has backfired in a major way for me in the past as my sense of justice is stronger than my sense of self preservation which is lovely from a moral point of view, but can be risky from a personal safety point of view.

I DO have dashcam footage thankfully yes. So easy enough to prove, shows driver and child's face and reg plate etc.

I didn't report there and then because I was driving behind them and saw them "park" (I use the word loosely) and get out of the car.

Thank you everyone. I'll upload the footage from my car in the morning and get it sent in to report it.

Sometimes other people's lack of wanting to protect their children from harm is just mind boggling to me. Someone else said what if dad was also under the influence. It honestly didn't occur to me earlier when I saw it but I guess that could have been a factor in the terrible decision making. If I saw this again in the future I now would report it right away in case they were able to have a timely response that would include a breathaliser!

Omg. That shocking.

I mean you’d have to call 999 wouldn’t you? What would be the point in calling non emergency whilst it’s in progress?!

I used to love doing this with my dad, 1960’s. He didn’t let me steer on my own though. I wouldn’t bother reporting it.

On a motorway I would. In a residential I wouldn’t, but I would judge them heavily and if I was within their line of sight I would also gesticulate to the idiot dad

Interesting. Do you think you would feel differently if your child was on the pavement?

*I work in the field of ethics, so it's always interesting to hear why people think differently to others

Has your dashcam footage really picked up that level of detail? Not just the front of the car showing the child in the drivers seat but the mounting the curb etc?!?

btw if you don’t have it, don’t bother phoning. There is no point reporting this sort of thing after it’s happened, it needs to be witnessed by the police, or the police need to be able to pull him over at the time.
They’re not just going to go round his house later on that day and arrest him.

they might do something with dash cam footage although my instinct is they probs won’t.

this is what I mean by ruminating on such a simple decision. Now it’s basically worthless information.

but if he was driving so wildly it’s likely that others called it in at the time anyway

No , unless they hit a cyclist

Road conditions in 1960 were very different compared to now!

There's a local pub where parents are alowed to park for the school run. I remember the pub landlady allowing her 4 year old child to drive their 4x4 down a backlane, wide enough to fit one car at a speed of a fully fledged license holder. I was gobsmacked anyone could be so stupid. I didn't report her, didn't want 5 years of issues, but I wondered what other stupid things they thought was OK.

Yes, I would have pulled over and phoned 999 straight away

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly1jw0qwjpo

This story was in the news recently.
Woman was sentenced for allowing her barefoot 10year old child to drive her car through a village.

Most police forces have a portal online where dashcam can be submitted. The majority are called Op Snap. They will review it and decide whether to proceed with education or court proceedings. By submitting the footage you are providing it as evidence and the online form will create your statement. You will also need to say that should the matter go to court you are prepared to be a witness should the driver plead not guilty.

Quite right. Don't bother reporting it if it's something the child might love doing.

I mean, if @GoldPoster 's dad was all right with it in the 60s, it must be OK. 🙄

My paramedic son has attended horrific RTCs with babies and children catapulted hundreds of metres down the motorway. Maybe tell her that? It’s child negligence and she needs reporting.

?

You are just as guilty as the parents of this child if you don’t report them!! Ring 999 anonymously the next time you know they will be driving anywhere and report them! If they have to brake hard and that baby goes straight through the front windscreen and is killed on impact will you be able to forgive yourself for not doing anything?

One of my neighbours has two grand children. When the youngest was about 3 or 4 my neighbour would drive him in is baby seat and then stop as the front wheels hit his drive.

He would then let his grandson 'steer'.

His and my homes are at the end of a cul-de-sac with zero chance of traffic.

I didn't report because it was a little boy having fun with his grandad AND most importantly was relatively safe.

Had he driven up the cul-de-sac I would have reported him.

My dash cam would have captured them and the front view if their when I first saw them approaching me on a corner. I was on a give way line so they went round the corner first then I followed them, down that street, round another corner and short street, and then halfway up another street. So I got a view of the front of the car and the back yes.

These are regular streets in a busy residential area with lots of kids, cats, other traffic.

If they were driving in an empty car park or down a quiet dead end cul-de-sac maybe, but he wasn't crawling align slowly and he mounted the curbs twice going round the corners. 😳

It's interesting seeing different people's views on this.

If the dashcam footage is good enough to prove this, then yes. I’d report. Sounds like the sort of driving that could have endangered pedestrians as well as the child in the car.

I think most police forces have ways to submit dashcam footage these days?

I never understand these posts. In what world is “hi SIL, some stranger on the internet, their son is a Paramedic and has seen children catapulted through windscreens” an effective way of changing people’s attitude to road safety? 😭

Absolutely and I have done. Our police force has a portal for reporting this kind of crap so I sent in my dashcam footage. Received a letter just over a week later saying that the "matter was dealt with by means of a Conditional Offer" aka fixed penalty with points and fine. Pedestrians/other vehicles could be hit and the idiot behind the kid is not insured either. They need to find a piece of private land away from the public for this kind of caper.

If parents are not keeping their children safe, then children are vulnerable and dependent on other adults taking action. Please submit the dashcam footage to police. It is clear evidence.