Only me Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I have always insisted that my kids or any other kids that ride in my car wear a seatbelt. I have been giving two girls a ride home from school everyday with my dd. Up until now it hasn't seemed to be an issue. Last week I realized that one girl didn't buckle up until halfway home. Yesterday she didn't buckle up at all. Before I start the car I always say "is everyone ready". Yesterday this girl just continued to send text messages etc. and pretty much ignore me. I thought that perhaps after I turned my head that she buckled up but sure enough she hadn't. My dd thinks that this girl just isn't used to having to buckle up when she rides with her parents. I also get the feeling that my dd doesn't want me to embarass her by making this a big deal. On the other hand, I really think that seatbelts are important. I realize that this girl is a freshman in high school but it is my car and I would feel awful if I were to get into an accident and she wasn't wearing one. WWYD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I realize that this girl is a freshman in high school but it is my car and I would feel awful if I were to get into an accident and she wasn't wearing one. WWYD your car, your rules. i would ask her to buckle up. if she protested i would tell her that this is the rule in our vehicle for both family and friends. we have some neighbors who have an odd rule regarding seat belts - children under 6 must wear them, kids 6 and older have the option :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Why don't you just remind her, "Every body buckled in? Jezebel?" and wait till she does. Nobody rides in my car without a seat belt. Ever. Riding without one is neither safe nor legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Absolutely. I would have politely told her that she must wear her seatbelt in my car. She may not like it, but then she can choose not to have to ride with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazycoffeechic Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 The car doesn't go anywhere until all the seatbelts are on, even in the backseat. If you ride in my car, you HAVE to wear a seatbelt, otherwise, you can find another way home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I require them. There's a seatbelt law here; I'll be fined if I get pulled over and the officer sees that someone isn't buckled up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Absolutely. Reminding her to buckle up isn't making a big deal of it. Safety issues aside, YOU will get a ticket if stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Same here for the seatbelt law. I'd get fined for anyone in the car not wearing a seat belt, and I'd lose points on my driving license, thus raising my insurances for the next 5 or 10 years (I'm no longer sure which one, I never had points taken away!) There's a nice effect to this law, it no longer makes it personal when you require seatbelts of everyone in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 I've always required seatbelts in my car. For some reason I've never really wanted to confront this girl but I definitely will after school today if she doesn't buckle up today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 My children think that the car can't move if everyone isn't buckled in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagnfun Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Absolutely. Reminding her to buckle up isn't making a big deal of it. Safety issues aside, YOU will get a ticket if stopped. Well I'll go with what ALL the other posts seem to be saying.. its YOUR car, tell her to put it on.. and um.. yeah the ticket thing..?!?!? Thats a $500 to the DRIVER. Think it would go over well with her mom if you told her you'd tried to tell her dd to put the belt on but she didn't so now she has to pay the fine?!?! Buckle up or fine another ride... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I have always insisted that my kids or any other kids that ride in my car wear a seatbelt. I have been giving two girls a ride home from school everyday with my dd. Up until now it hasn't seemed to be an issue. Last week I realized that one girl didn't buckle up until halfway home. Yesterday she didn't buckle up at all. Before I start the car I always say "is everyone ready". Yesterday this girl just continued to send text messages etc. and pretty much ignore me. I thought that perhaps after I turned my head that she buckled up but sure enough she hadn't. My dd thinks that this girl just isn't used to having to buckle up when she rides with her parents. I also get the feeling that my dd doesn't want me to embarass her by making this a big deal. On the other hand, I really think that seatbelts are important. I realize that this girl is a freshman in high school but it is my car and I would feel awful if I were to get into an accident and she wasn't wearing one. WWYD We have a friend who doesn't like to buckle, and her parents don't make her. Easy. My car, my rules. My car does not move until everyone is buckled. I also do not allow people to unbuckle to get something while the car is in motion. I *will* stop the car if a child unbuckles, or if I notice she is unbuckled, and she does not immediately comply. When adults are in my car and are not buckled, I will often ask them to do so, *especially* if they are in a back seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Yes, everyone buckles up in our family, and I would not permit someone to ride with me unless he or she buckled up. You could be held liable if she were injured. I would talk to her mother and explain the seatbelt situation. Perhaps her mother is slack in this, or perhaps the daughter just knows she can get away with it when mom's not around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 For some reason I've never really wanted to confront this girl but I definitely will after school today if she doesn't buckle up today. May I comment on this? I have noticed more and more people making statements like this lately. More and more adults are becoming so timid around children. May I remind everyone that WE are the adults. I think many young people today sense this timidity adults have and are becoming bolder and more brazen because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 H-ll, yes! And I have been known to STOP the car and refuse to drive until all seatbelts were fastened, correctly, too. No matter if "Mom doesn't make me wear one" or "Dad lets me do it this way"...my car, my rules!I'm the one liable in case of an accident - and the one who would have to live with myself if an unbelted kid was killed or injured. Nothing like peer pressure from other kids who do not want to be late for (whatever) to make a kid shut up and buckle up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wilhelm Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 All excellent thoughts ........... also, some insurance agencies won't cover you if you aren't wearing seatbelts! To save face and still maintain a level of coolness, blame the insurance agency.... and make everyone buckle up. Quick flashback to my childhood days watching tv.... public service announcement.... buckle up for safety, buckle up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 May I comment on this? I have noticed more and more people making statements like this lately. More and more adults are becoming so timid around children. May I remind everyone that WE are the adults. I think many young people today sense this timidity adults have and are becoming bolder and more brazen because of it. I agree. Somehow, the power has shifted and the kids have it. All they have to do is cry out "abuse!" and they know it, and adults are afraid of it. I've seen it time and time again and it's just flat out wrong. And, my car won't go until everyone is buckled up. If some teenybopper doesn't want to buckle up, she can hoof it to where she wants to go. So there. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieMonster Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I would feel awful if I were to get into an accident and she wasn't wearing one. WWYD If you are stopped you would be ticketed for the girl not wearing her seatbelt. I'm not for certain, but I believe her parents could sue you if there was an accident and her seatbelt wasn't on. Don't know if they'd win, but I wouldn't want to go through it. Blame the law if you don't want to embarass. But bring it up and enforce it. Edited to add: I see I was typing while a lot of others were, too. I guess it's good to see consensus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 My rule is simple: My car does not move until everyone has fastened his or her seatbelt. Period. If anyone refuses to wear it, I refuse to take them anywhere. Period. This is a direct order. I don't care what a person's feelings about it are, in any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorna in the boonies Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 In my family, everyone has to have a seat belt on before the car comes on, and nobody is allowed to unbuckle until I take the keys out of the ignition. When I met dh, he never buckled up. I refused to marry him until he got into the habit. (Really.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krista in LA Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 This isn't just about the law or even just her safety. It's about the safety of everyone in the vehicle. Should you be in a wreck and she isn't buckled, her flying body could injure or kill you or your children. My Dad's cousin was killed in a wreck last year when his passenger's body went flying into him at 50 mph (about 1000 lbs of force) because the passenger wasn't buckled. Never mind the fact that they could sue you should something happen to their child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 Yes Dawn. I agree with you. I just know that this girl can become nasty and make life miserable for girls that she doesn't like. Even though she isn't friends with my dd, I hated to start any trouble. This is the same family who gave me all the trouble when I told them I couldn't drive their dd home from school one night. My dd and I were home with the flu. I called the parents to let them know that they would have to figure out another ride for her. Since I also give a ride home to another girl who is friends with their dd I said that they would have to call that family to figure things out for the day. Can you believe that they called me 3 times wanting to know what I was doing about getting a ride for their dd. In some ways I feel sorry for this girl and that is the only reason I am still giving her rides home. Her parents seem clueless. This girl is an only child and they left her home while they went on a vacation over spring break. They left it up to the girl to find a place to stay while they were on vacation. The girl stayed with the other girl I give rides to for 3 nights. When I mentioned to the dad that he might want to call that family he said that he didn't even know them. How could you let your dd stay with a family for 3 nights and not even know them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepy Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 My car doesn't move unless everyone is buckled up. No exceptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Regardless of whether I require it or not, the state requires it. Thus everyone is seatbelted. My car does not move unless everyone is seatbelted. Your car, your rules, go nowhere till she has it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 As others said, your car, your rules. Not only would you feel terrible if something happened to her, but depending on your state laws, you could face prosecution. In our state, everyone under 16 has to wear a seatbelt regardless of where they are sitting in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted April 25, 2008 Author Share Posted April 25, 2008 Sometimes I think I am the only parent who follows the rules. I'm amazed at how many people I know who don't make their kids buckle, or follow other simple rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Yes Dawn. I agree with you. I just know that this girl can become nasty and make life miserable for girls that she doesn't like. Even though she isn't friends with my dd, I hated to start any trouble. This is the same family who gave me all the trouble when I told them I couldn't drive their dd home from school one night. Ugh. These kind of people will be the first to sue you if you have a wreck and their dd is injured due to not wearing a seatbelt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazycoffeechic Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 When I was taking driver's ed, a good friend was on his way to see me. He had his best friend & his best friend's girlfriend in the car. Best friend was on the passenger side, gf was in the backseat. Only driver was buckled. The other two went through the windshield when df's steering & brakes went out. Gf was killed. Everyone. EVERYONE wears a seatbelt in my car. Or we don't go. In college, when I was the only one w/ a car & 4 people piled into my old clunker, I waited while they dug seatbelts out of the dusty backseat (of my Ford FUTURA). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Every body in my car must be buckled in before I start the engine. If you have to call her by name to get her to pay attention, then do it. Better she should be embarrassed than dead if you have an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 ...several years ago and spent a month in the hospital initially, then over the next year, I had several more surgeries & hospital stays plus physical therapy 4 days a week -- all of this in spite of the fact that I was wearig a seatbelt! (A loaded 18-wheel gravel truck hit me head-on; both our vehicles were traveling at 50-55 miles per hour.) The rescue personnel later told dh, "If she had not been wearing her seatbelt, we wouldn't have even been able to find all of her to put into a body bag." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2legomaniacs Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I make adults buckle up when they ride with me too. That's the law and my rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serendipity Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I don't care whose car it is, who you are, how old you are, or what your 'supposed' excuse is. If you're riding in a car I'm driving, you buckle up. No ifs, ands, or buts. My mother doesn't like to buckle her seatbelt. I don't move from her garage until she buckles (she often has me drive). When I'm driving friends, family, or children places...EVERYBODY has to buckle up and I tell anyone not buckled to buckle up. I'm usually non-confrontational, but I've never given it a second thought when I've insisted someone buckle up. :) *gee. could i say 'buckle' a few more times...lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 What can I do but repeat-my car, my rules...and then there is the whole legal thing... Hey-despite the fact that most people know someone who has been involved in a serious accident you can always go for the high profile example (as silly as it may be). Princess Diana-potentially drunk driver + no seat belt = loss of life Doesn't matter how great/expensive the car or how "important" the person. Physics and biology still collide. I'll spare you my wreck story and just say-buckle up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Absolutely. They can become human projectiles otherwise or be thrown from the vehicle in an accident. I won't put the car in drive until everyone complies. Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam "SFSOM" in TN Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I have always insisted that my kids or any other kids that ride in my car wear a seatbelt. I have been giving two girls a ride home from school everyday with my dd. Up until now it hasn't seemed to be an issue. Last week I realized that one girl didn't buckle up until halfway home. Yesterday she didn't buckle up at all. Before I start the car I always say "is everyone ready". Yesterday this girl just continued to send text messages etc. and pretty much ignore me. I thought that perhaps after I turned my head that she buckled up but sure enough she hadn't. My dd thinks that this girl just isn't used to having to buckle up when she rides with her parents. I also get the feeling that my dd doesn't want me to embarass her by making this a big deal. On the other hand, I really think that seatbelts are important. I realize that this girl is a freshman in high school but it is my car and I would feel awful if I were to get into an accident and she wasn't wearing one. WWYD My car will not move until everyone is buckled in. She can protest all she wants. Loudly. With tears. Whatever. Too bad. She can call her mom to pick her up. Here's my cell phone, kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam "SFSOM" in TN Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Ugh. These kind of people will be the first to sue you if you have a wreck and their dd is injured due to not wearing a seatbelt. Absolutely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Yes. I even make my 24yo cousin buckle up. I simply say the car isn't moving until everyone is buckled. What are they going to do about it? I'm sure they don't want to just sit there all day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Agree- everyone must buckle up. It is your car, it is your fine if you were to be stopped. The only time I haven't insisted on buckling was when my in-laws car broke down once in a storm and we had to cram 5 adults and 2 kids in one car (kind of like a clown-car) but that was an unforeseen event and we really had no choice! (But I sure prayed for safety and for us not to get stopped!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbac Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 My rule is simple: My car does not move until everyone has fastened his or her seatbelt. Period. If anyone refuses to wear it, I refuse to take them anywhere. Period. This is a direct order. I don't care what a person's feelings about it are, in any way. Those are our rules also. So much so, that when the kids were small, one time I started moving the car because I thought both were already buckled in. Until I hear a "Wait!!!" come from the back seat. Also, it's never been an issue with any of the kid's friends, because the kids will tell them long before I have the chance, to "put their seatbelt on." She can protest all she wants. Loudly. With tears. Whatever. Too bad. She can call her mom to pick her up. Here's my cell phone, kid. Love it!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto3 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Everyone must buckle up! Come on, what's the big deal. It takes a second and saves lives. I agree that children today need to be reminded who is in charge. Especially if she is IGNORING you. You have demonstrated coolness under pressure. You have permission to blow! That probably wouldn't help matters. Just waiting patiently would probably make the point better than anything. Remember when teachers would just sit at the front of the class and wait for everyone to be quiet? It worked. Please update us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 This thread makes me feel so good! We have several neighbors that we are good friedns with, and I always feel like such a meany when their kids are in the car. They allow "double-buckling" of the kids (two together in one seatbelt) and let the kids take the shoulder belt off. I won't move my car if everyone is not buckles properly and these kids look at me like I have two heads. And that's okay, of course, but I was starting to think I was the only one who actually required proper buckling! Now I know I'm not. BTW, Luke and Peyton would have probably been killed when we were hit by a drunk driver a few years back, if it hadn't been for proper use of seatbelts and boosters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Why don't you just remind her, "Every body buckled in? Jezebel?" and wait till she does. Nobody rides in my car without a seat belt. Ever. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 In high school, riding around with my teenage friends, we always wore seatbelts. My family always wore seatbelts and as soon as our car had shoulder belts in the back, we had to wear those, too. Not wearing a seatbelt is also dangerous to the other passengers in the car, not just her. Should there be an accident, her body now becomes a 50-80 MPH missile launched at the other people in the car. Her head, limbs, bones and shoes can crash into other people at the rate of 50mph or more, and that would be almost as bad as your own dc not wearing thier seatbelts. Never heard of such a thing in suburbia. Now- take people right off the boat from other cultures, and yes I see it all the time. Here in the south, you'll see lots of people, even sticking babies in the back seat with no seat belt, or holding them on their lap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdWTMer Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I do for kiddos, but for my dad that would be a problem. We just wouldn't go anywhere, if I said it was my car and my rules and such. Plus, I defer to him as an elderly person. I respect his choice, though I think it's wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmgconner Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 My car, my rules. I even expect all grown-ups in the car to buckle, as well. I remind them that they are setting an example for my children. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 In TX the driver can get ticketed if anybody is not buckled in, regardless of seat location. I agree your car, your rules - take her phone away from her till she complies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donovans4 Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I haven't read all the responses yet, but I agree with those I have read: my cars, my rules. And my rule is everyone is buckled, and the belts are not unbuckled until the car has been turned off. LauraD in MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Just another chime-in: My car, my rules. Everyone buckles and will wear their shoulder belt properly to boot. I've corrected my girlfriend and her son on this most recently, and have refused to move the car on teenaged foster sibs. What's more, I'm a meany and would make my 2nd grader niece use a booster in my car even though her mom doesn't bother in their car any more. Sorry, you're under 80 lbs and 4'10" girlie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Aren't seatbelts the law nationwide now? If it's the law and you're in an accident - even one not of your own making - you're liable for the more severe injuries she will suffer as a result of not being buckled. I don't give rides to folks who won't obey the law; it endangers my family's welfare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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