Karellen Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Comment from the Times : I have never seen a more boggling, contradictory and unenforceable new law. For a start, let’s assume your friend has called to say that she’s late for cricket club kick-out and wonders if you could pick up young Oliver. This is classed as an “irregular” journey, according to the new law and, although you lack an extra booster seat, you are legally permitted to take Oliver home. However, if the poor lad is under 3 and you don’t happen to have a spare car seat, you’ll just have to dump him on the hard shoulder or face a £30 fine, rising to £500 if the matter gets to court. So let’s imagine that the police bother to enforce the new laws and pull over a mother transporting suspiciously small children. “Can you please step out, young fella, me lad. Ah, I see you are only 133cm tall. Madam, can you please tell me the purpose of your journey? Oh, a school run is it? Well, under the new legislation, that constitutes a regular journey and therefore assumes forethought and the proper booster cushion facilities. But Oliver’s mum is ill so you picked him up as well today? I see. Well, in that case, madam, er, just don’t make a habit of it.” Why bother to create a law so riddled with holes and caveats that police will — in theory — have to carry a tapemeasure and parents pack their children’s birth certificate? Instead of making law-breakers out of honest, well-intentioned parents, the Government should target the feckless 8 per cent. The rest of my generation are all suffocatingly safety conscious. And we already have to contend with health and safety insanity which rules that in most public pools one parent cannot take two young children swimming, meaning neither can learn to swim and — in that topsy-turvy logic — ensuring that they are more, not less, at risk from drowning. The DfT says that 30 children under the age of 11 die every year in car accidents and 400 are seriously injured. Yet it provides no data on how many of these were due to children using adult belts at age 6 rather than 9. The whole booster-cushion bonanza looks like a brilliant bit of lobbying by Britax and all the other car-seat manufacturers. In the past fortnight Woolworths alone has sold 10,000 Fisher-Price Safe Voyage cushions at a tenner a pop. Compare the car accident figures with the 166 child pedestrians killed and 4,000 seriously injured. Or the fact that child cyclists are four times more likely to die on roads as adult riders and yet cycle helmets are not obligatory (as they are in many countries), although this would save more lives and be much easier to implement. But the safety of the child passenger today exceeds all other concerns. We believe our children now belong in our vehicles. It is where they are safest even though our driving them everywhere increases the risk for the suckers foolish enough to let their kids walk. In the DfT’s magnificent leaflet, an imaginary parent asks: “We have four children but only a medium-size car. Do they all need to use child seats and boosters?” The Government’s answer is bald: “If they are under 135cm then they will all need to use the right seat or booster for their size.” So what does this parent do? Sell a child on eBay? Remain indoors and pump runtish offspring with growth hormones? Break the law? Or buy a humungous 4x4 in which all her little darlings can be properly secured. I thought the Government was trying to guilt-trip and penalise SUV drivers, not hand them a neat legal justification. So much for joined-up thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stookie Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Do you even have children? Are you willing to put them at an increased risk of sustaining an injury in a crash just because you don't think there's any need for a booster seat? I have grandchildren and always wear a seat belt as a) it's the law and I don't want to give the police any more reasons to stop me than they might already think they have, and b ) it helps keep me snug in the driver's seat. The rest I prefer to take responsibility for by constantly looking at ways to improve my driving as well as basics that I assume everyone does like maintaining the car in tiptop condition, having my eyesight checked regularly (so I can see that all my lights are working!), keeping my ageing joints as flexible as possible, etc. But we live in an Island that doesn't even test most cars for roadworthiness Prevention is better than cure as I've already said So you only put seatbelts on your grandchildren cos its the law? Glad you aint looking after my kids. I suggest you read what I wrote - are you a journalist or budding politician trying to put words into my mouth? And I'm glad I'm not looking after your children either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 And whoever was talking about carrying one around for taxi's...dont you think the taxi firms would have them in their cars as standard if it were the law? That was my point, it's not law for taxi's to have them fitted !! The only way that the child will have a booster seat in the taxi is if you take your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramsea Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 And whoever was talking about carrying one around for taxi's...dont you think the taxi firms would have them in their cars as standard if it were the law? That was my point, it's not law for taxi's to have them fitted !! The only way that the child will have a booster seat in the taxi is if you take your own. ok, if thats the case then you are quite right and I apologise. I just assumed the law was for all cars and not just private ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramsea Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Do you even have children? Are you willing to put them at an increased risk of sustaining an injury in a crash just because you don't think there's any need for a booster seat? I have grandchildren and always wear a seat belt as a) it's the law and I don't want to give the police any more reasons to stop me than they might already think they have, and b ) it helps keep me snug in the driver's seat. The rest I prefer to take responsibility for by constantly looking at ways to improve my driving as well as basics that I assume everyone does like maintaining the car in tiptop condition, having my eyesight checked regularly (so I can see that all my lights are working!), keeping my ageing joints as flexible as possible, etc. But we live in an Island that doesn't even test most cars for roadworthiness Prevention is better than cure as I've already said So you only put seatbelts on your grandchildren cos its the law? Glad you aint looking after my kids. I suggest you read what I wrote - are you a journalist or budding politician trying to put words into my mouth? And I'm glad I'm not looking after your children either My point was that you only wear a seatbelt cos its the law and not cos you have your grandkids best interests at heart, but after re-reading this then I feel I shouldnt really have said that just cos you werent specific. I was having a shit day at work and your post was full of "me me me Im such a good driver, nothing will ever happen to me or my car" it just pissed me off some more. Oh no im not a politician or journalist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Agitator Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 We invented the f-ing nanny state! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stookie Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 My point was that you only wear a seatbelt cos its the law and not cos you have your grandkids best interests at heart, but after re-reading this then I feel I shouldnt really have said that just cos you werent specific. I was having a shit day at work and your post was full of "me me me Im such a good driver, nothing will ever happen to me or my car" it just pissed me off some more. Oh no im not a politician or journalist Sorry I can't help you with your day at work, but once again you misquote - I never said I was a good driver nor that nothing will ever happen to me or my car (of course it will unless I never leave home!). What I admitted to was not being good enough, by thinking about ways I could improve. If keeping my car in good condition and having my eyesight checked, etc somehow imply I think I'm a good driver that wasn't my point either - I believe those make me a 'responsible' driver, but there I am using the 1st person again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cronky Posted September 7, 2006 Author Share Posted September 7, 2006 By the laws and culture of today I should not have survived my childhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 And whoever was talking about carrying one around for taxi's...dont you think the taxi firms would have them in their cars as standard if it were the law? They would be broken by drunken ar**holes in no time at all - and I'm sorry to say that it wouldn't matter whether the taxi was working in the daytime or night time - the same applies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cronky Posted September 22, 2006 Author Share Posted September 22, 2006 Boris Johnson in the Daily Telegraph sums up my feelings completely: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jh...9/21/do2101.xml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Agree Cronky. What are the stats for serious injury or death being caused to children capable of being securely strapped in without the need of a booster seat arising from the lack of a booster seat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah 01 Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 It is the 'Nanny State' gone insane. What on earth has happened to the concept of individual responsiblity for yourself and/or others. At a time when British Forces are getting their arses shot off in the Middle East, at a time when unemployment numbers are marching ever upwards, at a time when the UK faces very real problems from uncontained immigration, at a time when crime is out of control in many inner city areas, this brainfart from Brussels is accepted and enacted by a UK government that clearly has nothing better to worry about. And we here on the Island are daft enough to bend over and take another piece of utter and complete nonsense. The tedious little bureaucrats who dreamt this up (and to think, they actually are paid handsome salaries to invent drivel like this) should be placed on a (rocket) booster seat, fired into orbit never to return. Ghod! If you want to put your kid on a booster seat, then fine. If you don't, then that should be your choice, not the State's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Simple solution. Ban cars! Let kids walk to school instead of the ignorant twatty mothers in huge 4WD's double parking outside schools in the morning and afternoon, creating hazards and danger for the rest of the pedestrians and other drivers, and then their fat kids might actually get a bit of exercise and not have a coronary before their 35th birthday. Show your kids you really care, make them walk! No need to 'obey' silly EU directives then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cronky Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 Between 1981 and 1985 there was an average of 18 fatalities per year of children aged eight-11 using roads in the United Kingdom. That had fallen to 12 in the period 1994-98, to 11 in 2002, and in 2004 the total number of fatalities stood at four – an astonishing reflection on the growing safety of cars, when you consider how enormously they have increased in number. So, in a population of sixty million, four children for whom the booster seats will be required, died. It is not asserted that the chidlren died as a result of the failure of adult seatbelts. Transfer these figures to the Isle of Man and 0.005 children aged eight to eleven years will die in a road accident each year. It is not shown how the booster seats will improve this figure. My family car won't take three child seats. If we have a third child I will have to get a second car to move everybody around. More carbon emissions and more congestion. Furthemore, I will have to treat my children like babies for a lot longer. We don't need this law in the Isle of Man. Necessarily you will have to buy the seats for trips accross but who wants to go anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Look on the positive side, this should put an end to paedophile abductions! People without kids are going to be under suspicion if they suddenly start carrying a child seat in the back of their car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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