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Attachment Parenting
Quazel
member
Opening a can of worms, was this police worthy?
Quazel
member
I saw something last night that made me seriously consider calling the police. DH thought I should have. WDYT?
I was driving home with DS in the car. The light I was approaching turned yellow and I had to stop a little harder than I would have preferred. As always, I looked in my rear view mirror and hoped the person behind me stopped on time. It was an SUV behind me with a woman driving. There was a girl who appeared to be about 4-5 years old (standing, she was the same height as the seated driver). She was STANDING next to the driver. As the mom (I assume) braked, the girl braced herself on the dashboard. While we were stopped at the light, she stood there talking to the driver, her back against the dashboard. As we took off again, she stood next to the driver and put her elbow on the driver's shoulder.
If we had stopped any harder, that girl would have gone straight into the windshield! They drove the next few minutes into my neighborhood (great!) but turned before I do so I don't know where they live.
I realize it is none of my business but not only was that illegal, it was SO dangerous! I don't care if she has car sickness or a medical condition, the safety issue is enormous, both for the girl and as a distraction for the driver. If the driver had missed that I was going to stop for the light by even a second or two, she would have plowed right into me. I seriously considered calling 911 but didn't. Should I have?
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Re: Opening a can of worms, was this police worthy?
Totally police worthy, it's illegal. It would be the same thing as if you saw someone stealing a car, assaulting someone, etc. It's illegal and deserves a call, the caregiver would have gotten a ticket, hopefully a stern lecture and would have hopefully next time wouldn't endanger the child.
Absolutely police worthy, but as PP said, unless you could give them some identifying info to go on, it would be difficult for them to act on it.
Gives me shivers to think of a child riding like that in a car - I get nervous when people tailgate me with Ella safely in her carseat - silly drivers!
I also would have called the police. That's illegal and so dangerous! I know that even if you can't get the plate number and you call, the police can sometimes keep you on the phone as you follow them so you can keep track of where they are going so the police can get to them. We've done that before with a drunk driver. I'm sure that was hard to do though since you were in front of them.
And I agree, people are so ignorant sometimes!
yikes. that's BAD. I would want to do it for sure. but I wouldn't want child services to take that child away either. find out what the repercussions would be and then make your decision...
I had a similar situation last week. a man was riding his bike with his 2 year old (at most) girl sitting on the handlebars! I had to slow down to make sure I was really seeing what I was seeing. I was so angry that I wanted to follow him to his house and tell his wife on him. It really boiled my blood. did I mention he was riding in the street? it's maddening.
Totally would have called. It's one thing if it's the mom, total bad behavior, but could you imagine if it was the sitter/nanny/aunt/grandma who was doing that without the mom's knowledge? Wouldn't you want to know?
I totally agree with you. I should have called. We are actually moving to the street she turned on so I may encounter the family again. I guess I will look for an opportunity to say something or make a call.