Observation I made yesterday afternoon while sitting at traffic lights. Looked around at the seven vehicles I could see around me, suddenly struck me that only myself and one other driver/passenger were wearing our seatbelts.
A couple of these cars were full of children, obviously on the school run, NONE of the children had a belt on. This wasn't on a minor back street either but on a main A road just after a 40 limit down from 70 about 400yds back with no junction back for two miles, so they hadn't just 'popped round the corner'.
Is this another of the consequences of lack of police patrols?
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After driving for many years on the farm so not developing that "in-built" put on seat belt mechanism I do forget occasionally but at least I'd have noone to blame but myself if I hit something.
What makes me mad and I mean MAD is when you see some prat of a parent driving with little kiddie stood in the back between the front seats. A small tap would mean severe head injuries/death as the child's head hits the dash/gear stick etc. A little harder would mean the windscreen. Law states that for all those under 17 the driver is responsible/fineable (40 quid, big deal) for ensuring seatbelts are warn. Personally I think anyone who allows children to be in a car without seat belts deserves 4 figure fines and possible jail. I have even reported some woman (no offence meant to the female readers here, have seen plenty of blokes doing the same thing) who was driving at 95 in a clapped out Nissan Micra, right up the back of another car, on the M6 with a kiddie stood between the front seats because I was so disgusted by it
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Bang goes my theory that removing drivers' seat belts would introduce a sense of vulnerability and encourage responsible driving.
If they are not wearing them in the first place they obviously don't feel vulnerable!
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Cockle,
I'm right with you here, with young kids of my own I scares me rigid to see kids unsecured in a car, or standing looking back at me from the rear window of the car in front. I'm afraid I have to get space between them and us, as I just can't bear to watch, the possible consequences are too terrible, plus I don't want to witness the tragedy. As I passed one the other day, I pointed at my seat belt trying not to let their parents notice, should mind my own business I suppose. Awful. My two youngsters scream if I even start the car's engine before they're stapped in . . . perfect.
S.
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What is worse that kid-standing-on-the-back seat is kid-leaning-out-of-window.
The 'school run' mums, operating on autopilot, are the worst for this.
Once I told a woman at the traffic lights that her kid (lying on the parcel shelf, would you believe?) would be in danger should an accident occur.
The reply?
"Well that's my ******* problem, isn't it?"
You have to go through such rigmarole and procedure to drive a car, join the library, open a bank account, get a credit card, etc etc etc, but nobody issues a license to have children...
Incidently, the hospital here won't let you take your newborn away unless you have a carseat fitted ...
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I had a lot of arguements with my parents over this one. They always forced myself and my sister to use seatbelts in the back of the car. Very uncomfortable on a long journey. They even went to the extent of having rear belts fitted to all our cars (late 70's early 80's so rear belts not standard) this made it even worse as this was before inertia belts. I couldn't believe that they would make me do this as not one of my friends had to wear seat belts in the back. Times have changed though. I can't imagine sitting in the back of a car without belts espec. after that advert where the astra driving mother is crushed against the steering wheel by her son.
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My rule is simple.
The car doesn't move if the person sat behind me isn't belted up.
/John
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What do think of Dad or Mum riding a scooter with one, possibly two, small kids stood on the footboard in front of him/her weaving through 3 or 4 lanes of trucks, buses, cars?
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> What do think of Dad or Mum riding a scooter with one,
> possibly two, small kids stood on the footboard in front of
> him/her weaving through 3 or 4 lanes of trucks, buses, cars?
If I was in Sao Paulo, I would assume that the kids were going to be dropped off at various road junctions to wander between the cars, begging.
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Going for the record, I have seen three kids plus Mum carrying the baby and Dad piloting a motorbike in Syria. Remarkable considering motorbikes are technically illegal there (Muslim militants used them for hit-and-run shootouts in the past).
Bringing it back to seatbelts I asked a Syrian friend why he was driving a borrowed Volvo with the belt warning buzzer on and the light flashing. He admitted it was a macho thing--to wear it showed he lacked courage and he might only consider wearing a belt on a dark night a long way from his home area. Strange that I never saw any Syrians laughing at me or my colleagues wearing belts but then our number plates gave it away we were foreigners anyway.
Doesn't explain what is happening in this country. I assume it is just laziness rather than a statement.
David
PS: I wouldn't dream of putting seatbelts in a pre-1960 car but I don't feel that is quite as illogical as not wearing the one that could save your life when it is already fitted to a modern vehicle. I can only argue that 'odd' vehicles get noticed more readily than your average tin box and don't get involved in careless shunts so much.
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I read somewhere that airbags were introduced in the US partly because people couldn't be bothered to wear belts. Could the presence of airbags be lulling people into a false sense of security? If everyone was forced to drive a car into an immovable object at ten miles an hour they might be persuaded about the strength of the forces acting on them at really high speeds. Could be a use for scrap cars. But maybe not...
Chris
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Cockle wrote:
>
> A couple of these cars were full of children, obviously on
> the school run, NONE of the children had a belt on.
If there were more children than seat belts then this may 'explain' it, sort of. It's drummed into us that you mustn't put two children in one belt, although I've never understood why this is MORE dangerous than no restraint at all.
Having said that, I won't take more children than I have belts for. And the car doesn't start until all the belts are done up. And woe betide anyone who unplugs their belt before the engine is switched off!
I also get pretty cross with children who slump down beneath their seatbelt or lean over sideways out of their seatbelt.
But then, I'm the meanest Mum in the world - ask my kids!
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The reason for not having two in a belt is the same as (one of the reasons for) belting up the teenage son in the back. The force of the rear child crushing the front (usually smaller) child against the belt could kill it.
A seat belt stretches (ie STRETCHES: the material elongates, not moves forward or out) up to 10 inches in a crash - imagine the force needed to do that!
I don't know if there are similar problems from kids sitting side by side being crushed into each other, and crushed from the side by the belt being wrapped behind them.
I keep meaning to get in touch with airline safety depts and dog safety harness manufacturers to find out why additional harnesses can't be marketed for kids.
Are the airline type just for show? Why can't you loop one through mum's car seatbelt while she's holding the the sixth/seventh occupant of the majority of cars?
Are kids less important than dogs?
Or why can't you have removable belts on a double ended "plug/socket" to fit into the existing mounting, and allow the existing belt to plug into it.
Any one know the answers, or any contacts in the relevant industries?
And anyone know why I always disseminate my brainwaves before patenting them?
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Chris
UK and US airbags are different items too. US ones are designed to stop an unbelted person whereas the UK ones are of a lower power to work in conjunction with a seat belt. There were cases in the US of kids being killed when they were sat too close to the airbag and it went off after a minor bump throwing them backwards at a great rate of knots.
Colin
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So its not 'cos the average sceptic is so fat they capture passing asteroids..?
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