To not expect cars to drive so close to me when getting children in and out of car?

[Fruitysunshine]

Our car sits on the road and we have car seats on both sides so it does not matter which way round we park the car.

It has grated me for ages now that when I am on the roadside removing one of the children from the car that some cars drive so close to me on passing that I could touch them. It makes me feel vulnerable and unsafe and honestly one day I expect me to get crushed against the outside of my car whilst leaning in to undo seat belts.

I always look before I walk onto the road to make sure there are no cars coming but usually one ends up driving by. I also get the roadside first because if I get the pavement side out first then I would have a child standing on the pavement unattended whilst I am on the road, so I do roadside first then pavement and take them in together.

AIBU to expect cars to either give me a wider berth OR wait for the oncoming car to pass before driving past me?

I know it's a pain but you really should go in from the pavement side, even if the car seat is on the road side of the car, you will have to squeeze through with DC but it is possible - I have done it many a time

In an ideal world, drivers would slow down and give you more room, but as you know, they don't.

It's just not safe to put a child in their car seat from the road side if it's a busy road.

Same problem here. Most car drivers are pillocks, except for me obviously . It seems that they speed up when they see a door open .

Take the child in/out quickly, BUT leave the door wide open while you do it, that will force inconsiderate drivers to wait or to give you a wider berth.

I can understand you feeling vulnerable but as long as they are judging the distance correctly I think YABU to expect them to wait for you to haul a child in, fasten the belt and shut the door.

How old are the children? If they are old enough could you not ask them to climb in the seats for themselves from the pavement and then fasten the belts from the front seat?

Depends how narrow the road is I suppose and what obstructions there are on the other side.

We have sliding doors and my concern is when there is a car from the opposite direction and the car going past me squeezes by at the same time as a car is oncoming. There is no car door open to initiate a wider berth.

I am perhaps micro-focusing! Our road is a 30mph zone and every day there is a significant amount of speeding so with hindsight perhaps I don't need much encouraging to complain!

I shall attempt the pavement side release - sounds like a bit of a pain but if it will be safer for me then so be it.