To be shocked neighbour took baby in car on her lap in front seat?

[Daffodilly]

Yesterday afternoon I saw my neighbour over the road head out with her DH driving and her in the passenger seat with her DD (about 3 months) on her lap. No car seat. They have a two seater car.

I was rather as I'd think they'd know better. It didn't appear to be an emergency from the way they were leaving - no hurry, waving at other neighbours - which is only way I could justify it.

I know it is really none of my business, but I keep thinking how dangerous it is. I'd like to at least offer to drive them if they have to get somewhere by car - I could dig out DD's old baby seat from the loft. But not sure how I could even offer that now without sounding rather critical - which I guess I am really.

Or do I just keep my nose out - WWYD?

I see quite a lot of year 3, and younger, children in the front seat of their parents's cars with space in the back. What is the legal advice on minimum age for front seat use?

itati, see the link i posted - it has that info.

We did it recently when we managed to lose our car keys on a day out (public transport would have involved 3 trains and a bus, with no buggy and DD2 being carried the whole way) - my SIL gave us a lift home with the DDs sitting on DH's and my mum's lap (I'm pg so was in the front). A policeman drove up alongside us and was waving to DD1 - we were mortified, sure we were going to be pulled over but no. We are in London and so rarely go above 30 mph anyway. But WWYD in the same situation?

But no, of course it's a stupid stupid thing to do. I wouldn't report them as it could lead to all out war but I would mention that you have a spare car seat. Hopefully that would embarrass them enough to see sense.

Funny enough, we lived in Spain where children's car seats are still quite a rarity and people jsut don't worry about it. We didn't have a car so it didn't apply to us but we did take taxis all the time. And Spain has a much higher fatal accident record than the UK - these fatalities could be so easily avoided if car seats were used.

Thanks thumbwitch. So I could have any of my children inthe front seat with their car seats in place. Not sure how safe it would be tbh.

Friend of mine bought herself an MX5 and then found herself pregnant. Rather than get rid of her pride and joy she would drive herself and dd and get her dp to meet them at their destination having driven his works van.

I just wonder what the risk rates are though. I wonder how many kids lives have been saved since this law. Does anyone know the stats.

Tragic story in Bristol, kid killed by being hit by cyclist while walking on pavement.

Not sure how often that happens though.....

YANBU, I always strap car seat into PILs car and go through instructions each time, as the 1 night out we've had in 2 years (DSs were staying at theirs) DS2 wouldnt settle, and they drove to the pub and yanked us out.
I was mortified that he wasnt strapped in properly, and later found out FIL had put him in front seat with airbag )rear facing seat)a different time.
I wouldnt report them, but would have a word. The suggestion of 'oh, however do you manage with a 2 seater car?' was a good one.

Also, does anyone know what the laws are for taxis?
Sometimes DH borrows my car. If I have to get the weekly shop in, I wouldnt be able to manage it on the bus.
What happens there?
I'm thinking it must be ok, or you would see tons of parents down the high street lugging a pushchair and car seat around.

JB2007 - see the link I posted at the top of this page - it has the info on taxi use as well.

Some stats from the US here

Quotes from the link:
"In the United States during 2005, 1,335 children ages 14 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, and approximately 184,000 were injured. That?s an average of 4 deaths and 504 injuries each day."

"Among children under age 5, in 2006, an estimated 425 lives were saved by car and booster seat use."

"Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants, and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 years."

So the baby described in the OP has about a 70% higher risk of being killed.

They must be insane to take that risk.

Hi, I have a question for you all; I have a Morris Minor and I know there is a law saying that if a car doesn't come off the production line with seat belts fitted, one is not obliged to have them put in. On the other hand, there seems to be a law that says children must be restrained in a car seat.

Which law supersedes the other in that case (regardless of the fact that prudent parents would obviously want to protect their children and see them buckled in safely) - but leaving that aside, I was just intrigued what the law says in a situation like this one - does this mean one isn't allowed to carry any children in a car of that type (i.e. one that hasn't got belts?)

Because the first law indicates that adults are free to travel in a car without belts if it has none.

I'd be really interested in your opinion!

Thanks!

i would say if you were carrying children you would have to have belts fitted kim

I'd talk to them - or if you don't want to do that stick a copy of the rules in an envelope anonymously and pop it through the door...

if you then see them doing it frequently (so they know the rules and are breaking them regularly) I'd report it.

I think most people do it occasionally in an emergancy (once in three years here) and thats allowed but not regularly

I live in London. I see babies in arms, and kids not strapped in all the time. This law is not really being enforced.

Hi princessofpower - yes, the Morris has seat belts in the front (just not in the back), but they're static ones, i.e. don't extend by rolling out, hence they're too short to strap in a baby seat. Plus the passenger seat itself isn't fixed/doesn't lock in and is liable to tipping forward (mind you, it never has tipped forward of its own accord...) Anyway, my partner feels that it's not as safe to carry a baby in the front, so we're exploring putting the seat in the back.

I'm reconciled that I'll need to get belts put in (although as a purist I have a slight grudge having to tamper with a historic vehicle!) -- but the problem we've been running into is that we've been to two big baby stores who have both advised us that apparently a baby seat doesn't fit in the back - apparently the rear bench is not deep enough and the passenger seat would touch the baby seat.

I'm now considering taking the front passenger seat out, but am not sure whether that perhaps makes things even more unsafe??? It's so hard to know! Fact is, there's got to be a way round it! It's ridiculous that one shouldn't be able to fit one safely - it's not exactly the smallest car on the road! Very odd, I never believed this would turn out to be so difficult!

Any advice from anybody RE fitting a baby seat in a Morris Minor would be very gratefully received!!!

Scares me so so much. I've never been in a car accident, or known anyone who's been hurt in one, but i'm so paranoyed when it comes to cars.
Maybe try bringing it up:S dont know how you would go about it though :|

Hi Kim, I have a Morris Minor and DH installed seat belts in the back, as well as the isofix bolts which are mandatory here in NZ.

No problem whatsoever in fitting 2 car seats in the back, although it's not wide enough for 3.

Good luck. Morris Minor engines are brilliant for sending babies to sleep by the way!

Oops, meant to say as well Kim, the front passenger seat in ours folds down - does yours? Because if not, maybe you should swap it for one that does. That would seem a better solution than taking the seat out altogether.

It scares me how often I still see unrestrained children in cars and vans etc.. You are no safer on a 3 minute trip down the road than 3 hour treck up the motorway, and you can be the most careful, cautious paranoid driver ever, you still have no control whatsoever over the STUPID TWAT coming the other way, or pulling out in front of you, or stepping off the pavement into your path.

I'm often forced to break suddenly when driving at quite low speeds, (20-30 mph) and the noise my bag makes from the impact as it hits the floor after being flung from the passenger seat always shocks me.

Imagine if that was a baby.

I was involved in a serious car accident whilst in my parents car last year. I was 7 months pregnant. I was fine though and so was my ds (then just turned 2) who was actually none the wiser. He had fallen asleep and woke up safe as houses in his car seat wondering what was going on!! My beautful ds2 was born about 6 wks later and is now 8 months. If ds1 hadn't been in a car seat or i hadn't been wearing a seat belt I dread to thinnk about the consequences but we were all kept safe because we were!

However my neighbour doesn't even have a car seat for her dd aged 4 and I regularly see her standing up on the back or front seat . Perhaps I should tell her that I know? I hope and pray they NEVER have an accident!

Thought of this thread earlier. You could post today's Daily Mail article through her door - sad story of an 18 month old being thrown from car while on her mother's lap, sharing a seatbelt