kids and cars

call me old fashioned but isn't there a law here about car seats? Walking home from dropping my son off at the asilo I counted at least 10 cars (then I got bored) which contained kids and not one was wearing any type of restraint. One kid was barely visible above the dashboard standing up. In my area I have seen dozens of times parents and nonni driving with a baby/toddler on their lap, while the child holds the wheel. and what about emergency stops or airbag? These Italians love their kids so mcuh that they suffocate them...but car accidents don't happen to people who are good drivers (apparently!)

I see this all the time too. Lots of parents pulling the "Britney Spears" with the baby sitting in the driver's lap

haha you think THATS bad ,i have to drive a little electric car for one of my english jobs , basically one of those with to wheels in the front and one in the back ( car version of a mullet! ) and one time the 9 year old told me his mom let him drive it from time to time .. i mean yes its a crappy car but its a CAR!

so no seatbelt / drivers license needed but dare you swim within 3 hours of eating.. or go outside with wet hair!

or sweat....

Well obviously sweating is way more dangerous than flying through the windscreen!

yes that is normally my retort as well!

There are laws, very similar if not the same as most other EU countries.

However the message has not got through.

I don't trust anybody else to take Son of Thor in their car because I can't rely on them not to shame him into not using at least a seatbelt if not the booster I would send along with him, let alone enforce the "not one inch do we move till you are strapped in properly" rule. So if we can't go and pick up/drop off for a match or a play date..he can't go. I carry two spare boosters and any kid that comes in our car either hops in and buckles up or doesn't come at all. That upsets some parents, but frankly I'm too afraid of the other drivers on the road to take risks with their kids even if they are comfortable with it.

When we did have an accident the first thing the vigilie did was check that he had been strapped into his booster. There is a fine if they aren't.

So my cunning plan to change this lackadaisical approach to kiddie car safety is to tell any comune that is strapped for cash to send a fleet of vigile to the nido, materna and elementare at going home time and for two weeks solid fine every single last driver with an unsecured kid in their car. Then follow up with random spot checks to keep people on their toes until strapping in just becomes a habit for at least half of them.

That should force the message through as well as put the comune back in the black several times over, cos the last time I counted, out of about 70 cars leaving the school only one child was in the back, in a booster AND strapped in ....and he belonged to me.

Good on you SarahF . I wish someone would do it in my area!
If I make any comment they look at me with pity, like I am stupid. I also don't let Matteo go around in other people's cars for the same reason... When Matteo puts on his seat belt they treaat him like he is stupid too........che palle!!!!!!!!!!! (Sorry but this topic really really upsets me!)

Lizzie wrote:When Matteo puts on his seat belt they treaat him like he is stupid too........che palle!!!!!!!!!!! )

I did get to the bottom of this one. There seem to be three main motivators for belittling the kids and parents who buckle up or use their seat/booster.

Type 1 -

is is deeply offended that you are implying that in some way they are not the bestest driver in all of Italy, a country renowned for breeding "bestest in the world" drivers.

They are seemingly unaware that, despite their (dubious) bestest in the world driving skills, some of the other people on the road are just desperate to get decapitated and happily take other cars down with them.

If you make them aware of the (other) mad gits on the road you open the floodgates for a five hour boast of their rolling car avoidance and screaming brake skills.

Try not to point out the evident dents in the bodywork of their car as their claims of invincibility on the road take on a delusional tinge.

But fail.



Type 2 -

is responding with like for like criticism.

Because by using seatbelts/car seats/boosters you are inferring they are a crappy parent for not using them.

And they are not crappy, their kid just wouldn't sit in it/be strapped in it/wear it.

Right from birth they argued and said "no, this I will not stand for" !!! (but strangly parental iron will wins the day over the wearing of a hat, gloves and scarf despite it being sweltering and the loud, persistant protests of the meltee)

And anyway they/their spouse is the bestest driver in Italy, home of all the world's bestest drivers etc etc etc


Type 3 -

thinks you are a heartless, unfeeling and illogical parent, cos any mum/nonna knows that the safest place in a car for kids is in their mum's/nonna's arms

This "in a crash the laws of physics mean mama/nonna=gun, kid=bullet" logic that you are spouting at them is just silly nonsense because they would HOLD TIGHT to kid instinctively.

NB!!!!! with this type don't point out that it is entirely possible they would be left HOLDING TIGHTLY to a body while the head shot off out of the windscreen by itself...things can get a bit red faced and shouty at that point with accusations of calling down misfortune and much balls/tit grabbing to ward off bad luck.

MILs in particular are prone to hurling buckets of holy water around as a form of aqueous vaccination against calamitous events befalling their beloved grandchild that might happen now cos of the words you spoke.

Speaking of potential consequence...dangerous in terms of child safety.
Free range in a car ...not so much.

And anyway they/their spouse is the bestest driver in Italy ...ad infinitum.. ..head...wall...bang