Children in a moving car with rear windows down

Have just returned home from visiting family and passed a car where a child was leaning out of the back window with head resting on arms. I was horrified that the driver did not seem to notice or care, the child was clearly out of the seat belt. The child was not a nearside passenger.

Some years ago a child was killed because he had his head sticking out of a car window and the electric window was activated. He might have been decapitated.

We always did this sort of stuff when we were kids. My father always said anything sticking out of the window was dangerous, and if we didn't listen, he would stop the car until we did.

However, if British law is only that children under 12 or 135 cms need to be in a booster seat, there are plenty of under 12s, especially girls, who would be well past that height limit. Many girls reach their adult height between 12-14, so may easily be 140 cms at 11. I've met boys who were well past that at 11 or 12, too.

It's easy enough to stick arms out of the window with a normal seatbelt, and even heads if you slip the shoulder strap off.

OP, you can have all the rules you want for your own car, but you can't tell your DD or grandchildren what to do in their car.

No matter how good we think our own discipline is, you can't account for others' stupidity!

There are probably people daft enough to allow this, though I don’t see how it is possible without compromising the use of the seat belt - if they slide it off the shoulder or whatever it will not save them from serious head injury in the event of a sudden stop or worse.

Dogs are often seen with their head out of a car window - but vets say that could make them prone to ear infections.

My dad was in hospital with a man who drove with his elbow on the open window. Another vehicle took his elbow off!

It's impossible to put your chin on the window edge if you are properly strapped into your car seat, much less put your head out. Maybe a hand but not a full arm.
They must be slipping their belts off their shoulders.
Mum needs to get a grip.

DJF2018 I can't work out how they do this while wearing the correct safety constraints.

Leaning out of a window or putting your hand out could be dangerous and I would not allow it.

Of course people sticking body parts out of car windows is a potentially dangerous - at the very least it could distract or mislead another driver, though admittedly that was much more likely in the days of hand signals, but at its worst, imagine what might happen if the arm or head went out as a vehicle was passing too close in the opposite direction, or even if the car on question passes too close to an obstacle on either side. You see wing mirrors lost that way fairly frequently, but at least thy are replaceable!

Ah yes, thanks, I can see them on my ipad but not my phone. But others come out ok.

Polly It is because they are in a format which your device can't display - not confined just to GN.

This cannot be serious! If it is, get a life. If it’s not, think of something which really matters and is a feasible problem.?

Juggernaut your icons/emoticons have just come out as rectangles. This happens a lot on GN.anyone else have the same problem?

?????

The chauffeur gets annoyed when the little darlings lean out of the windows he says their shoe buckles scuff the leather seats.

Mawbroon: How is this possible if they are wearing seat belts? If they choose to have the windows open and can reach an open window with a hand, so what?

Seat belts or car seats. Exactly so. My grandson could open the little triangular window beside his seat from age 3. We always had to check when leaving the car that the little menace hadn't done it again :-)

There seems to be quite a few AIBU postings on Gransnet,
from people who haven't thought it through. The problem here isn't putting hands out the window, it is not having the children strapped in as the law requires.

How is this possible if they are wearing seat belts?
If they choose to have the windows open and can reach an open window with a hand, so what?

SueDo I think it's a challenge to see how long they last before being rumbled! I just feel miffed for all the kind GNs who don't realise.

Petra - if you're right and this is somebody making up problems, I feel silly for having taken it seriously. It isn't the first time I've been fooled.

However, there are people silly enough to allow their children to behave like this.

DJF2018
Do you think you could dream up something more realistic for us to debate.
With thanks.

I wouldn't allow them to dangle anything out of the car but resting arms on top of the window presents no danger and they're old enough to understand that.

And it’s a ? from me as well.

Somebody's bored

Rubytut, British law states that children under 12yrs or 135cm must be in a child car seat so unless both children are exceptionally tall, they won't be using a seat belt on its own.

If you are wearing a seat belt, and not in a childrens seat,you can easily lean forward to stick your head out. Just saying as that is the point a lot of people are making.