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Parenting

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Original poster

OMG - am astounded by what I saw today!

60 replies

popsycal · 16/05/2004 20:38

We were driving into tesco.....a car was waiting to pull out onto the main road

A man was driving a woman in the passenger seat
standing on the man's knee whilst he was driving was a child less than a year old

the car was moving and was about to pull out onto a busy road!!

WTF

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Twinkie · 20/05/2004 11:01

I thinkit should be an arrestable offence to have a child in a car and not have it safetly and adequately secured and I get sooo pissed of with people who complain that it is sooo expensive to buy the right car seat - not even going to start as I may get all cross!!

secur · 20/05/2004 11:10

Message withdrawn

littlerach · 20/05/2004 11:19

Well, I have just come back from shops where I saw a car with dad driving, and a baby seat in the front passenger seat and mum in the back - with tiny baby on her knee.

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Freddiecat · 20/05/2004 12:14

There's this woman who has a son at my DS's nursery and this morning she arrived with her son at the same time as another mum (who I know she knows) who had her twins and other daughter with them. They also had another woman with them. When I got back outside (to discover that yet again the stupid woman had blocked me in...) I realised they only had the one car there which is a small car and there were no child seats in it. So presumably they thought it was perfectly safe to drive around with 3 adults, and 4 children under 4 in the one car with no car seats.....

Unrelated - but I witnessed an accident on the roundabout at the top of our road the other day where one car went into the back of another. The car in front was entirely blameless and she was driving faultlessly. Now if this 3 adults and 4 kids car had been there at least some of the kids would have sustained some nasty injuries. Why are people so stupid?

Linnet · 20/05/2004 12:31

I'm 27, I was 3 when my brother was born and I have a memory of being in the back seat of my dads car with my brother in his carrycot lying beside me on the back seat. I don't remember if it was strapped in or not or if I was wearing a seatbelt but I think probably not as I don't think cars had seatbelts in the back in those days.

My grandad had a car and we used to go away for days out grandad driving my granny in the front and my mum, brother and I in the back. WE didn't have seatbelts in the back and thinking about it now horrifies me but at that time it was normal.

I don't drive and neither does my dh but we still had a car seat when our dd was born 7 years ago, it was borrowed, even though we were very rarely in a car. I'm now overdue with my second baby and we have bought a travel system because we'll need a car seat to bring baby home and for the odd occasion that we will be in other peoples cars or in a taxi. I wouldn't even think of getting into a car with a baby without putting it into a car seat. And our dd always put her seatbelt on if we're in a car/taxi without being asked. I think it's the novelty of being in a car for her since we usually walk everywhere but she does understand that she has to be safe. And likes to check that everyone else has their seatbelts on as well.

I hate seeing people arriving at the school with their kids bouncing around in the back of the car. And I don't know how many times I've seen cars passing me that have children standing in the back between the two front seats. It just doesnt bear thinking about.

SoupDragon · 20/05/2004 12:56

Whilst in McDs today, I saw a mother balance her 1 year old (?) child on the counter and leave him sitting there whilst she ducked round the corner to put something in the bin. The counter is about 4 foot high? WTF was she thinking? She was only gone seconds but it would only have taken him to lean forward to watch where she was going and he would have been face down on the floor.

Twinkie · 20/05/2004 13:03

No I think if someone runs a car or uses a car they should buy a car seat regardless of how much they are - if they can afford to run a car for god sake go withoput something for a while and use the money to ensure that yuor child is safe.

As for people driving with lots of people in the car - if you have an accident your insurance compnay will not pay outif there are more people than there are seats in your car!!

I do get cross about things like thas and about the stupid cow who was yelling at her little girl who must have been about 2 years old outside our local shops the other night that she could not have any fucking chips cause they didn;t have any fucking money, this was after I stood in front of her in the off licence and watched her buy 10 fags and 4 beers and then share them with her scummy friends!! - the poor little girl was so small and was outside the shop for at least the 30 minutes that i was there for and it was after 8pm at night and DD had been in bed for 30 minutes and she is nearly 4!! - god there are so many people who would give their right arm for a beautiful child to car for and then people who don;t treat tham properly - it breaks my heart.

secur · 20/05/2004 13:07

Message withdrawn

tallulah · 20/05/2004 16:06

Twinkie, I don't know if the laws have changed recently, but it was only in 2001 that we were able to afford a 6 seater car. Before that we had the 4 children on the back seat of a normal "family" car (they were 15, 13, 11 & 9 at that point). We checked the insurance at the time & they said it wasn't a problem as far as they were concerned & from an insurers POV having 6 people in a 5 seater car wasn't breaking the law.

I hated doing it though & was so relieved when we finally managed to get a 6 seater, especially when the day before we were supposed to pick it up, DH was knocked off the road by some idiot overtaking 9 cars at 90mph, & flung through a hedge into a field. Luckily it was just him & 2 kids- all strapped in & all walked away unscathed even though the car was a write-off.

DS3 hates using buses & trains because there's no seat belts....

dinosaur · 20/05/2004 16:13

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Easy · 20/05/2004 16:25

As far as I'm aware we pay VAT on children's car seats. As they are essential (and strictly speaking, compulsory, altho lots of people don't seem to realise it), shouldn't they be VAT exempt?

I agree that they are expensive. But if the companies selling them do re-invest some of their profit in research for safer seats then that's all for the good. They won't do that if they can't make extra profit on top.

secur · 20/05/2004 16:30

Message withdrawn

Easy · 20/05/2004 16:34

I don't think it was sneaked thru as such. I suspect car seats have always been counted as car accessories, hence just like stereos and fluffy dice, attracted VAT.

Should we start a campaign?

Tinker · 20/05/2004 16:35

VAT is only at 5% on car seats for children.

Nutcracker · 20/05/2004 16:35

I remember when my dad was trying to teach my mom to drive and we had no rear seatbelts. My mom braked suddenly and my younger brother shot of the back seat and on to the floor.

My dad also once drove around the block with me lying in the boot. He wanted me to tell him which side of the car the knocking sound was coming from

toddlerbob · 20/05/2004 20:18

Soupgragon -my friend does this all the time. Also leaves 1 yo on a chair, on sofa etc. I have my heart in my throat the whole time and feel that "I" have to stay and keep an eye on him.

moominmama86 · 20/05/2004 20:39

I can definitely remember rolling around in the boot of our Austin Allegro (!) for long car journeys - in fact me and my brother thought it was bit of a treat because of the fact that you could bounce around so much and weren't restricted to being strapped in! I also know that when I was a baby my mum and dad would just bung the carrycot on the back seat. The mere thought makes my blood go cold now but it was certainly the norm 20 years ago...

highlander · 20/05/2004 23:32

I was in an RTA when I was 4 and went straight into the dashboard - 3 bouts of max fax surgery later...........

I'm a bit paranoid about seatbelts now

Freddiecat · 01/06/2004 12:38

i'M 29 and my parents were unusual in the early 70's for having a child seat - an early Britax model.

Their car was in a rear-end shunt and my mum got whiplash. My dad clearly remembers me (age 2) being flung forwards, arms and legs out, and restrained by the seat. If it wasn't for that seat I'd have probably hit my mum in the bak of the head and done searious injury to both of us.

I have thought about mentioning to the nursery about the 2 mums, one other adult and 4 kids in the Corsa. Do you think I should?

Twinkie · 01/06/2004 12:40

An EU directive got VAT taken off of all child restraints for cars about 2 years ago - I remember cause had just bought one and then they went down 17.5%!!!

LIZS · 01/06/2004 12:45

Have you seen them do it since ? I only ask because it sounds from your earlier post as if you didn't actually see them all packed in it but have made an assumption (which I'm not saying is necessarily wrong) that they all travelled in that vehicle together. If you think it is a regular thing or did witness it then yes you could mention something to the staff but whether they would consider it their job to say any thing I don't know.

nikcola · 01/06/2004 13:00

i saw a girl about 25 in her red corsa the other day waiting at a junction she had loads of junk on the back seats, a toddler standing up in the front in front of the dash board and a new born just liying down on the passenger seat it was a scarry sight

sarochka · 01/06/2004 19:33

I think that some serious measures need to be brought in some where. How can people be made more aware? Reading these stories upsets me so much.How could anyone swear like that at their child or put them in a car in so much danger. Me no understand!

Hulababy · 01/06/2004 19:36

I went to get petrol yesterday at a garage. In the car just down from us there were two young woman in the front seats, and a little girl - about 18 months maybe, sat on woman's knee in passenger seat - no restraint, no car seat in back, no nothing I really wish I had the courage to say something but TBH I am not sure I would trust them not to hit out or being nasty/aggresive towards me

Hulababy · 01/06/2004 19:39

I am not sure what can be done overall. Maybe the traffic police need to be much more proactive over this? Take them off the motorways stopping and fining people for speeding on their, and move them onto town roads and fine people with unrestrained children? Or rather than a fine have the offenders have to watch a video of some victim's parents explaining their loss and their regret, etc. Something really hard hitting that would make them be shocked and stunned into taking future action.

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