Stupid
I don't mind stupid people. I do mind when they intrude upon other's lives.
Yesterday I was driving down a particularly busy road, 6 lanes with a center turn lane, and I look over at this car. I notice the little girl in the backseat. She was about two but from the way she was moving I could tell she wasn't strapped into a car seat. A boy was sitting right next to her and then next to him was an empty carseat. I then look at the driver. That's when I see a little head with a red hood SITTING ON THE MAN'S LAP.
The mother was sitting in the passenger seat holding some balloons while the man drove with their baby on his lap!
My first thought, and I am ashamed to say it is - they must be ignorant and poor. No. They were driving a very new looking JAGUAR. A car that probably cost about $62,000.
Do they know what the airbag would do to that baby if they hit someone? They only need to bump into someone doing about 30 mph to activate it. We had a similar incident here, the mom was taking the older child to school, let the 2 & 3 year old sit in front (with NO seatbelt) and bumped into the car in front. The 2 year old was decapitated by the airbag!
What do you do in this situation? I have heard before that there are places you can report their license plate number and they will send them a postcard. Would it matter? The people had a carseat and chose NOT to use it. I wasn't next to them for long and considered making faces and appropriate hand signals but then they will just write me off as nasty and crazy (and lots of people have!).
It's weird because also yesterday before this incident, I was heading towards a client's location on a very busy interstate. A young guy in a BMW comes slipping in and out of the lanes, going at least 80-85. I cursed him and called him a jerk. A few minutes later I saw him pulled over by a cop! I remember thinking, "Finally, a cop when you need him!" I wish a cop would have been around to see this man with his family. The mom needs to get slapped around too. Hopefully they will get caught before its too late.
Yesterday I was driving down a particularly busy road, 6 lanes with a center turn lane, and I look over at this car. I notice the little girl in the backseat. She was about two but from the way she was moving I could tell she wasn't strapped into a car seat. A boy was sitting right next to her and then next to him was an empty carseat. I then look at the driver. That's when I see a little head with a red hood SITTING ON THE MAN'S LAP.
The mother was sitting in the passenger seat holding some balloons while the man drove with their baby on his lap!
My first thought, and I am ashamed to say it is - they must be ignorant and poor. No. They were driving a very new looking JAGUAR. A car that probably cost about $62,000.
Do they know what the airbag would do to that baby if they hit someone? They only need to bump into someone doing about 30 mph to activate it. We had a similar incident here, the mom was taking the older child to school, let the 2 & 3 year old sit in front (with NO seatbelt) and bumped into the car in front. The 2 year old was decapitated by the airbag!
What do you do in this situation? I have heard before that there are places you can report their license plate number and they will send them a postcard. Would it matter? The people had a carseat and chose NOT to use it. I wasn't next to them for long and considered making faces and appropriate hand signals but then they will just write me off as nasty and crazy (and lots of people have!).
It's weird because also yesterday before this incident, I was heading towards a client's location on a very busy interstate. A young guy in a BMW comes slipping in and out of the lanes, going at least 80-85. I cursed him and called him a jerk. A few minutes later I saw him pulled over by a cop! I remember thinking, "Finally, a cop when you need him!" I wish a cop would have been around to see this man with his family. The mom needs to get slapped around too. Hopefully they will get caught before its too late.
posted by DebbieDoesLife at
6:25 AM
11 Comments:
I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but I probably would have taken down the license place number and called Highway Patrol or something like that, if for nothing else other than to make myself feel like I tried to do something. I *hate* it when I see shit like that, and the sad thing is that I see it more often than I should, which is never.
By
mamatulip, at 3/24/2006 7:40 AM
This kind of thing gets me really riled up. We had a family on this street who were renting a house. They had plans to move into a bigger custom home and made it clear to the neighbors that this was "slumming" for them. The chose to drive at a ridiculous pace down our street to get to and from home each day. Our street has more children under age 10 than houses. These people have two kids, but they didn't care. They would even peel out leaving their house each day.
It got so bad an neighbor call the cops. Several people started shaking their fists openly at them when they'd do it. They were not only stupid, but jerks, and did not care. I'm so happy they are gone!
By
Crazy MomCat, at 3/24/2006 8:11 AM
Are you sure it wasn' K-Fed and Brit Brit?
What careless disregard for their child's safety.
By
Anonymous, at 3/24/2006 8:16 AM
Simply outrageous.
By
Arabella, at 3/24/2006 9:15 AM
#1 how do they have kids and such a nice car?
I'd be tempted to call the cops. Not that they'd do anything.
I can't believe people would have kids and not take care of them.
By
Anonymous, at 3/24/2006 9:16 AM
That is infuriating. It's been my experience that these people get really angry when you try to suggest they might prevent their children from being hurt or killed, too. Even if you say it nicely.
Those poor kids!
By
Mrs. Harridan, at 3/24/2006 9:46 AM
Negligent assholes. People like that don't have the right to have kids. I seriously think people should be screened before being allowed to procreate.
By
Tink, at 3/24/2006 10:46 AM
I've been in this situation and called the police from my cell phone and saw the car get pulled over. I admit I felt conflicted, wondering if there was some extenuating circumstance, but lives are at stake. Kids can't make these decisions themselves, and parents need to do the right thing. So yeah, I'm a tattle tale.
In Virginia, you get ticketed and fined. No nicey nice, no postcards, no warnings, no excuses. If you can't afford a carseat, you can get one through social services. Period.
If you go to the American Academy of Pediatrics site and read their child restraint guidelines, you'll see that most state laws are lenient in comparison. By AAP guidelines (if I'm remembering correctly), kids should be in a booster seat until they're 80 pounds and something like 49 inches.
By
Anonymous, at 3/24/2006 10:50 AM
I would totally follow them and call the Highway Patrol. That stuff is infuriating. My son's dad put our then-four-year-old in the front seat of his Prius, buckled in, but right in front of the airbag, despite the fact that the back seat was empty and available, and despite my request that he put the kiddo in the back. I called the police department to ask about all this, and they said if he got caught doing that, he'd be ticketed. (I then passed that tidbit along to my son's dad and said I would make sure he got caught -- he stopped doing it, to my knowledge.) I'm thinking Mr. Jaguar needs a big, expensive ticket to motivate him to change his ways. What the hell is the matter with some people??
By
B.E.C.K., at 3/24/2006 12:02 PM
People are careless and lazy and don't think the worst will happen to them. As sad as that is.
Yay! about the speeder getting stopped. I have things like that happen to me all the time and they never get caught! Just once, I'm hoping to see them pulled over too. that would make my day!
By
Renee, at 3/24/2006 12:57 PM
I'd call 911 right away with a description of the car, plates and everything (down to what they're wearing... I'm all about being able to ID people, especially the driver). I'm pretty sure the police here would respond fairly quickly. I'd also make a report over the phone so Childrens' Aid would get involved. There's no excuse for any one of those things.
I once waved and smiled at a dude who blew by me on the highway and later got pulled over. He was being a complete jerk and I'm pretty sure he saw me laughing at him.
By
Heather, at 3/24/2006 2:40 PM
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