Fuckhead parents who don't seatbelt their kids!

The BBQ Pit
21

Oooh yea, this is a pet peeve of mine. If I see a kid hopping around in a car or not buckled in, I just motion to the kid if I can get his attention and get close enough, or if the windows are down I just tell them to put it on. I must admit I’ve gotten a couple of menacing stares, oh well, tough shit, do your job as a parent and someone else won’t have to.

Oh and that end up at a kids mercy is a crock of shit, that would require a REAL belt across the ass every time they got out of the car and pulled a stunt like that, Sorry but if it comes down to a red ass or your head through the windshield, be prepared not to sit too comfortably for a couple days.

22

Psycat beat me to it.

lucie - It does sound like your sister needs to take a belt to their little asses. Jeeeezus! Who is the parent here?

23

It is great to see other people who take this seriously. I am incredibly anal about car and booster seats for my 2 and 4 year olds. I take the time and effort to install the damn things correctly, with the little clips if needed, the new straps that clip to the bolt you have to mount up through the trunk, and my wife and other friend parents give me a hard time about it, like I shouldn’t put the effort in. At a recent drive-through workshop held by police/fire/safety officials and car seat manufacturers they found that almost 100% of the damn things were installed incorrectly, or a least had significant room for improvement. How can this be? What are people thinking? The instructions are pretty damn clear about how to put the things in. The car makers make the clip mounting real easy, from what I have seen. I couldn’t believe how well Honda and Saturn did (the only two I have tried) and how the bolt provided by the booster seat makers fit perfectly into the pre-threaded hole the car makers put in 4 years in advance. Very few things work this well when more than one organization is involved. I guess for child safety they can get it right.

There are so many ways for kids to get hurt. Many of them are beyond the parents control. Wouldn’t you be foolish to not put the effort into controling the ones that are controlable?

When my oldest learned to take off her harness, I stopped, restrapped her in, turned the car around, and drove home. We were half way to Disneyland the only time she did it. I don’t think we will have to do that again. Lots of tears for all of us, but at least we won’t be crying about a kid who died for lack of a seatbelt.

24

Good question. It’s looks like there are a bunch of Nerf-the-world do-gooders that want to be everyone’s parent. What? No one will listen to you? No problem, the government is more than happy to enforce your particular fascist needs. The little bit of freedom you give up is worth it. Right? Sure, I mean, if only one child’s life is saved…(yawn).

The funny thing is that most of the die-hard seat belt nazis that I have met were also pro abortion. It’s not that I’m a big pro-lifer by any stretch, but that kind of hypocracy is astounding to me. For the record I make my kids (9, 6, and 3) buckle up. I do it because I feel it’s safer, not because I fear the retribution of the government. I also assume that every car I see may swerve into my lane because one of you loonies driving your 13yr old daughter to planned parenthood drops your joint in your lap, and the act of swerving back onto the road causes your Firestone tires to explode and flips your SUV into my lane. I’m ever vigilant about that. Uh oh, vigilant. I better watch what I say. I wouldn’t want to give you villagers any ideas.

Hey Guys! I think I saw a smoker over there. He’s over there. talking to that Christian Scientist. Let’s get em both. Crap! Where’s my pitchfork and torch?

25

well, aren’t we proud of ourselves?

Leap of logic or two notwithstanding - I am pro seat belt, pro choice, the two are not even closely related, in any one’s mind except the close minded anti abortion freaks who have no problem entering in my most personal of choices with my family and doctor, but are against something as life saving and sensible as mandatory seat belts for children.

It doesn’t matter to me why you keep your kids belted, it matters to me that you do, so that **if ** we get into an accident (where you are swerving all over the road busy preaching to your young-uns about the evils of modern day society ) I don’t want to feel the pain of watching your children bleed because of your stupidity.

26

Squid, since you used my quote in your little rant from left field, let me point out to you that when I wrote -

I was referring to the fact that she obviously has no control over her kids, seatbelts or not. But hey, way to twist things to meet your own Rush Limba-ish agenda. :rolleyes:

P.S. Beware the black helicopters. . . . . .

27

My sister was a single parent for several years, and having had an abusive husband who beat the shit out the kids before abandonning them all and disappearing with his girlfriend, the kids had some issues. They did get their butts swatted on a fairly regular basis, but it took a few years of therapy for them to work out the abuse and abandonment issues.

And for the record, I know of plenty other parents who have had this problem with their kids in the past. Not all the time, but on occasion when the little darlings are just being obnoxious and contrary. You can’t exactly toss them through the windshield as an object lesson, how ever much you may want to. And you can’t pull over on the freeway during rush hour every time they want to pull a stunt. Hell, you see kids holding their parents hostage with bad behavior every day in the grocery store, restaurants, movie theatres. They are not all bad parents who don’t discipline their kids. Kids are going to act up, throw temper tantrums, and push mom and dad to the breaking point on a regular basis, spankings or no spankings. Why should you think they would not pull that sort of shit in a car?

28

My life has been saved by seat belts, not once but twice.

First story:
One day when I was 9 years old, I got into the car to go driving with my dad. I didn’t put my seatbelt on right away; then when I tried, I found that it was stuck in the door. I made my dad pull over to the side of the road so I could open the door and free the belt. Self-righteous little whiner that I was, I also pestered him until he put his own belt on.
Half an hour later, we got into a serious accident with four guys in a Corvette. The vette was totalled, and my dad’s station wagon needed serious repairs, but because everyone was belted in, there were no injuries more serious than a bruise.

Second story:
Two weeks ago today, an idiot swerved into my path on the Interstate. I was unable to avoid him completely; my little Jetta glanced off his SUV bumper, spun uncontrollably across four lanes of rush-hour traffic, and crashed into the concrete divider. The whole front end of the car was destroyed, but my seat belt and airbag (and a bit of luck) prevented me from being injured.
I always make sure that every passenger in my car has his seat belt fastened. My coworkers are a bit lax about it when we’re on our way to lunch, but the car doesn’t move until all belts are on. When I test-drove a new VW during my lunch hour today, I didn’t even release the parking brake until the salesman had buckled up.

If you let your assorted offspring climb around without seat belts, that’s your own decision, and of course there’s no way I can force you to do otherwise. However, if you do choose to leave them unrestrained, I suggest that you not wear your own belt either. That way, when the kid gets killed in an accident, you’re more than likely to die yourself, and you won’t have to deal with the guilt of having slain your own child.

29

Very few things are as foolish as NOT taking a simple step to protect your own offspring.
Very few things are as annoying as being told what to do with your own offspring.

Squid has a point, although it’s a stretch to paint some people in the light that he did. I’ll nooot let my son in the car without a seatbelt, but I don’t want you in my car window telling me this. OTOH, I do like the fact that the information on seatbelts is available, and the issue is broaght to our attention.

The idea that someone else should be living my life for me (ie raising my lids) is not appealing.

30

Wow, I’ve never met anyone who was “pro abortion”… “pro choice” yes, but never “pro abortion”… and if you can’t see a difference, you’re even stupider than you look.

31

Less appealing than having your kids die? You said your kids buckle up, so you don’t have to worry about anyone telling you to buckle them.

32

No, that’s where you are wrong. It IS my business whether or not you buckle your kid up. When your kids start fuckin around and distract you from driving, I don’t want to be the person you plow into.

If a parent is too stupid to buckle up their kids, they deserve to have someone yell at them to do it.

33

Lucie, all previous abuse issues aside. Get crucial and give them the big spankola. Your kids having to relive memories of previous abuse is nothing compared with having to plant them after an accident. I do not have kids yet, and neither do I support excessive physical punishment, but when I do have them and they try that sort of intentional and opportunist misbehavior, SWATOLA. In the long run your children will be able to distinguish between the earlier abuse that they were subjected to and the correct discipline that you are applying. You may find that garnering their respect now will save you innumerable headaches downstream.

34

No Opal, I do have to worry. I have to worry because if you feel justified in telling me to buckle 'em up, you’ll surely feel justified in telling me what else I NEED to do. I disagree whole-heartedly with you view, and I’m sure you’d get quite sensitive about my interfearance in your life - if for instance I insist that you keep your cats in your house, because anywhere outside your house a dog might have 'em for lunch.

All people have the right to be stupid, Dianne. If I’m stupid, so be it, as long as I’m not stepping on your toes. If anyone drives recklessly for any reason, whether it’s their kid distracting them or the aplication of make up at 50MPH, they should be pulled over and fined.

35

Persephone: Are you talking about those pads that move the seatbelt so the shoulder harness fits smaller children?

If so, those things are worthless. I just took a car seat safety course and we were warned several times not to use these. They are usually just stiched together and nowhere near strong enough to stay together in an accident.

If your child is too small for a regular seat belt they should stay in a child seat.

36

ZENSTER sez: Total blow it Tradesilicon. You might have the right to be stupid in your home, but not outside of your property lines. When you have children under your protection you are subject to a larger body of law. Remember the phrase, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”? Remember the legal concept of “Reckless Disregard For Human Life”? If you’re driving around with your kids totally OOC (Out Of Control), then you are a candidate for law enforcement (be it via citizen, officer or by accident [all irony intentional]). If I plow into you and kill anyone of your children that were distracting you and unsecured within your vehicle, you better hope there’s a CHP right behind us. While they cut your kids out of the crushed shell with the jaws of life, I would be doing my best to kick your sorry butt (out of grief and sorrow) for giving me the chance to slaughter innocent children. All of this just because of what you seem to term, “Allowable Stupidity”.

We agree on a lot of things, but not this one.

37

I do keep my cats indoors. Personally, I wouldn’t get my panties in a twist over someone telling me to follow the LAW. It is the LAW, you know, to buckle up your kids. If you are breaking the law I am quite within my rights to remind you of said law.

38

I, too, used to get furious at the sight of unbelted children; until I came upon the appropriate chant for those occasions:

“Natural selection, natural selection, the process of natural selection…”
Same goes for those who ride in my car–I ask them, once, to belt themselves. …Works for me.

39

You have a right to your opinion, wrong as it may be.

Then you have done the plowing? And you are angry at me? Just to clarify, I did not say that I don’t insist on seatbelts for kids (and anyone else in my car for that matter). So if you plowed into my car, seatbelts would be at work.

It remains to be seen who would need their presence more. But let’s go on

This discussion was about parents who don’t buckle their kids, law was not mentioned. I know the law, and follow it.

You are assuming that all kids who are unbuckled are recklessly disregarded - all I said was that parents need to care for their own kids, not wait for the one in the next car to tell them to buckle up. And, that if I let Opal tell me how to drive my kid around, next she’ll insist that I stricktly enforce a diet celery and yogurt, since that’s the only acceptable diet for a child.

And if you are truly concerned about the slaghter of innocent children, simply pick a crack addict who is pregnant, and go preach you sermon there. I have no intention of waiting for you or anyone else to come into my home and tell me what I must do, or in my car, or in my face, bud.

Wrong, I have the right to be stupid anywhere, I don;t have a right to step on you, and if I do so, I expect to be appropirately discipled. Until then, stay out of my car(read SUV), and keep out of collisions with bigger vehicles.

Opal, I really did not take the OP as a point of law, as I mmmentioned before that is not the issue. I follow it, but I don’t expect every citizen to look after my kids, I reserve that responsibility for myself.
But I do think your heart is in the right place :slight_smile:

40

I’ll second that. It’s bad enough to see kids bouncing all over the inside of a vehicle. When I see some dumb-ass, dill-hole, prickless schmuck driving around with kids and/or dog in the bed of their pickup, it really pisses me off. I don’t need your kids flying out of your truck and in front of my car. I just saw some asshole driving around like this on Saturday, and they had a fucking “I’m Pro Choice” bumper sticker. How about choosing to protect your children? Awwwwww, fuckit. shhh zzzz, you’re right. Natural selection.

However, don’t kill your poor dog who doesn’t know any better. And if you must keep your dog in the back of the truck without a harness on, can you at least close your fucking tail gate? Stupid jerkoffs.