What Is It With Some People...

[fishpieface]

...thinking that, for whatever reason, the law doesn't apply to them?

On holiday recently, whilst driving slowly in the queue up to Penn Inn roundabout

at Newton Abbott, a car and its occupants behind me caught my eye, the car being

medium-sized, about the size of an Astra.

In it were a woman (driving), a bloke, three children and a rotweiller dog.

None of them were wearing seatbelts, the woman was bellowing into a mobile

phone whilst driving and continued to do so whilst negotiating the large

roundabout.  The windows were right down and one of the children was leaning

out, one was hanging over the back of the front seat and the dog was clambering

about all over all three children.  No child seats, no restraints on any of them

whatsoever despite all three being well under 10, probably uner 6.

It made me very cross and when I drew level with them at red traffic lights

in the lanes at the roundabout I said to them, "At least strap your children in, they

have no choice when you break the law and drive them un-restrained".

The bloke, with his vest, tattoos and earring said, "X@! off".  Very eloquent - not!

What is it with these people?  Are they thick, ignorant, arrogant, what are they?!

A bit of all three and more besides I guess, and they don't like being told what

they know is right so they say the only thing they can think of - something-off.

Where are the police when you really want to see one?  Can't phone as then

you're doing wrong yourself.  If you take the number and report it later, that's no

good as it has to be proven.

Controversial maybe, but there are occasions where I can see a cut & dry case

for sterilisation.  If people are too thick and arrogant to look after children

properly then they shouldn't have them.  If one drives and has children one should

know how to transport them in a car properly restrained according to the law,

it's not something that can be done by accident - and the dog, not very safe

having a rotweiller clambering about loose all over the children either.

OK, rant over.

[ilove2patch]

I agree 100% Fishy!

[fishpieface]

Cheers Maggie.

Thing is, when, Lord forbid, there is a terrible accident in which children are killed as a result

of not being properly restrained in a vehicle and/or being bitten by a huge, terrified and unrestrained

dog, it's all over the papers etc, the cliches about how they were angels etc and how the dog had

never eaten anybody up until then.  Yes, angels with idiots for parents.

We all know that we can never be 100% guaranteed safe when on the roads, but vehicles

do have belts in and there are laws relating to their use for a reason which is to make it

as safe as can possibly be. 

People spend hours, weeks, years with ongoing development and researching in order that

our vehicles are safer then these damned twits refuse to use them!  Honestly I can't get my

head around it.

[the-ginger-ninja]

Rules in Mummy's car are:

You strap in and stay strapped in

Hands, heads and feet stay in the car at all times ( I can see you in the mirror so get your hands in )

Dog travels in the boot behind dog guard. Big dog and breaking hard or having an accident means he would be thrown forwards.

Rules in Mummy's van:

You strap in and stay strapped in.

The window only gets opened by Mummy and not completely.

There is a set of booster seats in both car and van. They were £15 each so not a huge investment for the safety of my girls.

Everyone who knows my mobile number also knows if they ring or text while I am driving they will be ignored until I stop.

There  is no excuse for what your saw or for their response. But they would be the first to scream when one of the children is hurt in an accident. I am suffering the consequences of a low speed rear end shunt, his fault for not paying attention to the traffic in front. Seatbelt tightening has damaged my shoulder, but I still insist everyone in my car wears one. 

[geranne28]

I couldn't agree with you more fishie. I didn't need a law about mobiles phones for me NOT to use mine whilst driving.

I don't need a law about zero tolerance of alcohol whilst driving - if I believe in zero then I self-impose it.

I was horrified to learn that LN's Mummy allowed him to travel in her car without a bumper seat before he was tall enough/old enough to abandon it legally. In my car, he was in the back on a bumper seat and the dog restrained next to him. Mummy could do what she wanted in her car, but LN soon learned that when I minded him, my rules prevailed - and no argument! He's 13 years old now and I still insist he sits in the back of the car when we travel on motorways (which we have to do between his school and my house).

But well done fishie for speaking out - even you did get a horrible response.

[chickengrandma-2008]

Pity you didn't have someone else in the car with you fishy, they could have phoned the police.  I wonder if they would have actually done anything about it, either immediately or later?

[shonafp]

if that family do have an accident. the dog will also be thrown through the windscreen 😞

then in addition to injured / dead children, there could be either a dead dog or an injured dog running down the road...

[bitsnknots]

Couldn't agree more Fishie.  Grace can undo the straps that tie her into her car seat but at 2 years old, she knows not to undo until she is told to.  

[ginap.123]

Agree Fishy, some people shouldn't be allowed kids & would probably be screaming for compensation if thier little dear got as much as a blister. Police are never around when you need them

[fishpieface]

I am so glad that people agree, I thought maybe I was perhaps too oversensitive, being

driving for a living and also having waited so long (twenty yrs) for our children.  But I am wrong,

and very glad that people feel as strongly as me about it.

Geranne, what you say about not needing a law for certain things, ie., matter of common sense

and safety of our charges, whoever they may be, whilst in our car.

It's less often now that I take littlies in the car, now my youngest is 14 - used to be the childrens'

friends mostly.  However, I still have two booster seats in my shed, just incase.  As somebody

said, £15-00 each - nothing compared to the life of a child.  Same with a dog restraint, what are

they, about the same, but nothing compared to safety of dog and other passengers.

I too never answer mobiles whilst driving, there's nothing that can't wait until I've stopped safely.

Even an emergency is better waiting a couple of minutes than being answered and potentially

creating another emergency.

[bitsnknots]

Couldn't agree more - again.  I have never used my phone whilst driving yet and I've no intention of starting now.

[guardpig]

Fully agree Fishie.  You do wonder why they had kids sometimes. Sproglet climbed in the car the other day and installed herself in a normal seat and was just pushing the seatbelt home when she suddenly found herself in her baby seat and firmly strapped in.  After 2 vociferous children I really no longer care how much noise she makes - I can stand it.  Will admit it never occured to my children to actually unstrap themselves - touching the buckles was forbidden.. 

[bitsnknots]

As I have said, Grace knows she must not let herself out of her car seat until she is told that she can do.  She also knows that she is in a serious amount of trouble with her mum and dad if she does.

[fishpieface]

Our youngest was taught from the start that the straps stay done up, he doesn't touch window or door

handles or seatbelt buckles until we say so.  Funny, he's fourteen now and still occasionally asks if

he can get out now!

Eldest, being defiant, gets in the car and just sits - as do I, waiting for him to put the belt on.  He's nearly

twenty and doesn't live at home now, but rules are rules, in my car belts are worn and he has two choices,

put it on or walk!  He knows that too.

My mum used to sometimes pick our youngest up from school, when he still used a booster seat.

She often didn't use it (I found out from him) and let him sit in the front.  I'd bought her a booster

seat too.  Twice she didn't use it then she picked him up no more.

[bitsnknots]

Good on you Fishie.  If you stand by a car with Grace's car seat in, she'll 'That's mine'.   

[mygreyangel]

Last year a local man aged 47, a well-loved husband and father of a teenaged daughter was killed by being knocked off his bicycle and run over at a roundabout.

The 26 year old man who was driving the van, complete with car trailer, that ploughed into him had just come off the motorway and was chatting to his girlfriend on his mobile and had been for some 8 minutes beforehand.

[bitsnknots]

---

@mygreyangel wrote:

Last year a local man aged 47, a well-loved husband and father of a teenaged daughter was killed by being knocked off his bicycle and run over at a roundabout.

The 26 year old man who was driving the van, complete with car trailer, that ploughed into him had just come off the motorway and was chatting to his girlfriend on his mobile and had been for some 8 minutes beforehand.

---

That's terrible.  There's a 32 year old woman who lives across the road from me and it surprises me she hasn't been fined for driving whilst using a hand held mobile.  It also surprises me that her and her mother haven't been prosecuted for driving on the pavement either.

[leoleoleo123]

Agree totally.. bleddy idiots!

other half had an incident a few days ago, not driving related, but dog poo!

he was walking our 3 dogs to the Braid... behind some bloke who had a dog, it pooped once and he carried on walking... after a while, it pooped again... still on the pavement.. the man looked behind him, saw hubby and said 'what you lookin at?'...

Hubby replied.. 'well, thats twice your dog has done his business on the pavement.. you might want to pick it up? '

The man said.. 'if you are so F@cking bothered, pick it up yourself'

[stampingpat]

One of the first things I bought after looking at Roxie was a dog car seat harness. My sons were taught from an early age to wear seatbelts. And luckily they do...... Dan has had two car crashes and the only thing that saved his life both times was the seatbelts. So that really does bring it home to me. It really is sad that people like that don't respect the law or the life of their children and pets. 😞

   Leoleoleo, until getting Roxie I hadn't noticed how many owners don't pick up after their dogs. It is totally disgusting. I am right there the minute Roxie does her business. It is so easy to carry some bags to pick it up. And around here there are dog poo boxes around or bins for rubbish that there really isn't any excuse.

[baby_clothes_online]

Yup. We have a road closure at the moment, everyone has to drive round a diversion - it's a pain but everyone is doing it. Now I don't mind the odd motorbike going through but there is one BT earth digging lorry that thinks it is OK to move the blockade out of the way and come through. Police informed.