I have noticed a disturbing behavior exhibited by parents in the car riders parking lot on a daily basis, and after what I witnessed this morning, I have to speak up!
Every day when I go to pick the boys up from school I see kids that are not in seat belts. Kids of all ages, from preschool to elementary aged kids. They are standing up through the sun roof, sitting in mom’s lap (in the driver’s seat), jumping up and down in the back seat, and today hanging out the window (seriously, sitting with everything but his legs hanging out the window). The first few times I witnessed this, it was alarming. I was shocked, that these kids weren’t in seat belts, and some looked like they should have been in car seats. Please don’t get the wrong idea, I am not writing this post to judge parents, but instead to raise awareness. While I completely understand how boring it is to wait, in the car for our children (I have a 2 year old & 10 month old), I think this is a very dangerous way to keep our children entertained.
Aside from being illegal, allowing your child to do these things could prove fatal.
Why am I so concerned? When I was 10 my mom and I went to pick my brother up from school (I was sick that day) and I witnessed an accident I will never forget. The last bell of the day rang and the kids came rushing out of school. When one little girl got into the car she slammed her finger in the door. When the mom (driver) wasn’t sure what happened and her focus went from driving to helping her daughter. She took her foot off the brake for a moment and what happened next was horrible. Her car smashed into the car in front of her, and set off a chain reaction. At the end of the day a few children where injured and one adult lost her legs (she was loading children into a day care van, and was struck by the car behind the van). It was a horrible thing to witness, and has shown me just how quickly the act of picking a child up from school can turn into a tragic situation.
PARENTS: Be careful, just because cars are inching along, doesn’t make it safe for a child to move around in the vehicle. Imagine what would have happened to the child who was hanging out the window this morning if the car behind them crashed into them. It’s not worth the risk!
Wow, that is so tragic… and what an impact to your life. Thanks for sharing. One of the reasons that I switched my kids (2 and 3) to a new daycare is because of the manner in which the parents behave in the parking lot. The parking lot was small, but some of the behavior was horrible. Parents leaving the cars running (it is illegal here in TX), parking practically parking in the middle of the driveway instead of trying to make room for other parents to park… other cars going around you as you wait for a car to pull out (you got your blinker on, etc) and then smirking at you as they exit their car, etc etc.
the sadder thing yet is that when I addressed these concerns to the OWNERS and DIRECTOR of the day care, they just glance out their window to look at the parking lot and just shrugged it off and said "yeah, they do that sometimes". That was the most concerning because it was their business and they refused to address it.
Wow, that is really sad! It's crazy that people don't realize the dangers.
Wow…very good post. I have never had a problem with my kids staying in their seatbelts, but I think it's just all they've ever known. They know we don't tolerate disobedience in that area. Driving with a baby on your lap is ridiculous, I am appalled. Thank you for raising awareness on this topic.
Stopping by from mom bloggers club. I stumbled the post. Great awareness post
Thanks for creating awareness over this topic. I see the same thing in my son's carpool every day. The smaller kids in the cars waiting for thier older siblings to get out of school are all over the insides of their cars, and then when the older ones are picked up, they're walking all over the insides of the cars as the cars are moving. My daughter is always buckled in; I don't care if we're in a parking lot or not. Anything can happen, and it usually does. Thanks for sharing this story.
Stumbled ya!
even when you do the right thing it can end bad as well my child was 18 month's and her father where both in seat belts and her in a car seat and was hit from the side and killed her at only 18 month's old and this was in 2002 and he is still in a nursing home not able to do anything and doesn't even know he is on this world. so seat belt's dont always help i was told that's what help kill her because she was able to move any during the crash which made her body take as much force as the car did and killed her right in front of my house. no im not saying dont wear seat belt's but don't expect them to save you every time.
I am so so sorry to hear this. Thank you for commenting.
Very good points and well said. As someone who has lost a child I can assure you no on wants to go through that pain. And at such a cost to the child.
It is up to the adults to be the responsible ones.
This story made me shiver! Car safety can never be taken too seriously. Thanks for the vivid reminder!