kids sitting in traffic

saubryn

mrcow wrote: »

Maybe he wasn't being agressive.......maybe he was just panicing?

Maybe he wasn't shouting to be agressive......maybe he was just trying to make himself heard over the top of the bedlam that was going on in the back seat of the car?

If that's the case, then fair enough. I read the post as indicating he was behaving in a way that made the poster feel nervous / unsafe. I think the stranger could have behaved in a less threatening way and achieved the same result (got the OP to think about safety / have the kids put their belts on).

mishkanorman

OP,
perhaps he had already observed you from further up the road and had tried to gain your attention before. If he felt you were just ignoring the messing around he may have jumped to the conclusion that you didnt care.


mishka

Nicki

skintas wrote: »

the way he did it banging on my car window so aggressively i locked all the doors.. i told my kids not to listen to him,... im so pleased my partner wastn with me he would have made me stop the car and got out and told him to belt up,....thing is my car wasnt even moving... i was stuck in severe traffic

Oh Puh-lease! I live in central London as well, and you make it sound like you were parked when this happened rather than in stop/start traffic, as was in fact the case. When a gap opened ahead of you, would you really have stopped, waited for the kids to put their belts on, and then moved off, or would you just have moved off before someone else, also fed up by the jam cut in front of you, and you lost their chance.

The fact of the matter is, you were driving along a busy congested road in a built up area and your kids were not belted in and were not even sitting calmly in the car, so were extremely vulnerable in the event of a shunt. A man, who appears to have been a police officer, asked them to belt up, you ignored him, and so he started to rap on your window to get your attention and to ensure that you obeyed the law. Had he produced his warrant card, stopped your car (in front of your work place, you say) and issued you with an on the spot fine, would you have been happier with this, as the more correct way to behave?

You are just lucky that your kids are OK and you are not short of money this week having had to pay a fine. So in answer to your question, no you were not right to be annoyed by this, and almost no one on this thread would have reacted the way you did, or found themselves in this situation in the first place.

basketcase

Rikki wrote: »

Not all children are perfect but like bestpud did there as consequences to not doing as you are told. Don't do are your told, don't get what you want!

I wouldn't drive the car if my children were not wearing a seat belt. In fact I wouldn't drive anybody in my car if there were not wearing a seat belt.

Likewise Rikki and bestpud. It's difficult because children do get bored, but I always tried to make sure that they had plenty to do. The car doesn't move until everybody has their belt on. (IIRC, it isn't the adult passenger's choice whether to wear a belt, the driver still gets done if they're not. So in my car the choice is belt on or walk.)

I've also taken kids back home for fighting. They're a distraction to the driver and actual physical fighting just wasn't allowed between mine anyway. (Or if they did, it was when I wasn't there because, like my mother used to stay "I don't care who started it, I'm going to finish it! :rotfl: )

shays_mum

Its amazing the amount of times i see the front seat ppl all have their belts on & the kids unbelted at the back, its madness!.
Op i agree it must have been scary for you, maybe the kids needed a short, sharp shock, but better safe than sorry eh!

Gangstabird

At that point, I would have lit a fag an all!

xxlaurissaxx

Gangstabird wrote: »

At that point, I would have lit a fag an all!

What with kids in the car??????????

funky-footprints

What an interesting thread !! Where has the op gone ? ?

How old are the children op?

I share a school run, well i did !! the one mum's son has just stated in reception and he takes his seat belt off, I have refused to take him in my car until he learns to sit still ! Its just too dangerous, i can not be responsible for him. we dont have child locks on the back door, I have no need as my children dont mess, I have power sliding back doors, he actually pressed the button and opened the door at traffic lights ! that is one time he has been in my car ! i put the child locks on straight away, took him home, after stopping a further two times to put his seat belt back on, and informed his mother i couldnt take him in my car again !

An old school friend lost her 3 year son in an accident, he had taken his belt off and she didnt know ! it just isnt acceptable for a child to do !! Mine are 7 & 5 and they know the rules, travelling in a car, MY car isnt a game !!!

crutches

When I've been driving I check all are strapped in to start with .If not we don't start.If anyone unbuckles the car is pulled over,stopped and does not start until they do so.One child was very impressed when a policeman pulled in behind us to see why I had stopped and read him the riot act too and told him Mummies were told by the police to stop if little boys took off their belts.
I also stop if I get comments on my driving.I've pulled over and offered my husband the choice of walking.

PLEASE get tough with your kids.they can read,wear MP3's,play i spy but NOT undo their belts otherwise no treats,lifts to friends etc.Parenting means prioritising,its tough work but their safety is YOUR responsibility.And yes i speak from experience,6 kids,2 stepkids,21 yrs of motherhood and an ADHD houdini who learned that seatbelts are nonnegotiable.