 | Home > Off Topic > Always wear a seatbelt! I've just been reminded first-hand.. |
 
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| ZeDefender Member Since: 15 Sep 2011 Location: Munich Posts: 4731   
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After a 13 hour drive, fueled by bacon sarnies, Red Bull and Liquorice Allsorts, we are finally back home. However, on the way we were reminded how important it is that everyone (including animals) wears a seatbelt...
At the toll booth in Nice, my son pointed out that the boy in the following car (about 10 yrs) was hanging out of the window and obviously wasn't strapped in. The motorway ahead was congested but the traffic was stop/start getting up to about 50km/h. After a kilometer or two, the van in front of us slammed his anchors on and I had to pull up pretty sharpish (as best one can in a 110)... ...after a second or two we heard a massive crash behind us and then felt a serious jolt. Both cars behind us were written off (most of the damage was between them) but the worst damage was to the boy and his mother in the middle car. The car had effectively been hit from behind and in front and neither the boy nor his mother was wearing a seat belt. He was catapulted forward into her. Remember that seat belt advert with the baby elephant hitting the driver in front? I witnessed the real thing 
It was very nasty and the mother and child were taken a way in an ambulance in a pretty bad state. I know it wasn't my fault but I still feel sick about it. Only positive thing is that the tow bar/rear step are undamaged and the French police were extremely kind and helpful. Please tell this to anyone you know who doesn't strap their kids in... Tell someone you love them today because life is short. But shout it at them in German because life is also terrifying and confusing... Last edited by ZeDefender on 14th Jul 2013 8:38pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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13th Jul 2013 1:06pm |
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| theorangebandit Member Since: 03 Jun 2013 Location: Stowmarket Posts: 862 |
I never allow my kid to be in a moving vehicle with out a belt on, and because of that rule that me and my wife share my daughter always straps her self in.
your story sounds hideous I do not like to hear of children being hurt when it wasn't directly there fault, those parents need to be punished for not bothering to teach good values |
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13th Jul 2013 1:42pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20922 
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To me it just doesn't feel right to get in a vehicle with out a seatbelt on full stop I'm that used to it. There really is no excuse. ____\We|Will|Win/___
____/π¬π§πΊπΈ\____ _//*β½οΈπ’οΈβοΈπ§°*\\_ |
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13th Jul 2013 1:45pm |
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| iPints Member Since: 15 Jun 2012 Location: SC Posts: 294  
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I am still shocked by the number of people using their mobile phones while driving.
Having a young lady drive into the back of my stationary landy (at a round about) she got very angry at me. Police arrived as someone had called them, I explained I was waiting for a decent break in the traffic and she drove into the back of me....both breathalysed and both passed. The police asked if I was on the phone to which I replied I wasn't, when they asked her she said she wasnt either. They asked to look at my phone so I handed it to them and they confirmed no calls or text received or sent. They asked to see hers to which she replied no. Long story short she had been cautioned twice before for using her phone while driving.....and this time she was on her phone when she hit me. She got done for dangerous driving and causing a RTA.....I think she lost her license for a while.....but it could have been a whole lot worse. A few years ago a couple of teenagers got killed in their car by a lady driving into them as she was on the phone. The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead. Albert Einstein |
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13th Jul 2013 2:05pm |
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| theorangebandit Member Since: 03 Jun 2013 Location: Stowmarket Posts: 862 |
I have never understood what's so important that a text needs to be sent right there and then, I insist on have Bluetooth hands free HUs so I can safely call people if I need to. that woman deserved the tow bar in her bonnet.
my tow gives me so much reassurance especially when that knob head in the MX-5 is up my rear end, hell end up modifying his front end soon |
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13th Jul 2013 2:33pm |
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| Wangers Member Since: 19 Jan 2013 Location: West London Posts: 265 
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As a fleet manager and thus having both numerous vehicles and drivers, it's not the phone that is the problem. There is no difference between driving whilst holding a can of suitably carbonated drink in your hand, and holding your phone.
It is the conversation that causes the distraction. To this end, even if you are hands free it is still and endorseble event. Couple of years ago a manager in Manchester called his driver who wass on the M25; driver tells him i'm driving and hangs up. Manager calls back, 3 times, to tell him that basically he was losing his job at the end of the week. Worked as a driver for 18 years ya de ya, and about 15 mins after the end of the 25 min call he hit a stationary car on the motorway and killed the 2 <20 yo in it. End result - driver done for careless driving, manager in Manchester done for manslaughter (causing death by a direct or indirect result of their actions, non premeditated or with intent) and company convicted for Corporate Manslaughter. So, have all the bluetooth, handsfree speaker phones you like. You are still being distracted by the conversation. And to add insult to injury, I was called this morning by a rather upset lady, telling me that one of my drivers (her husband) has been killed on his motorbike on Friday afternoon by, yes, a driver on their hands free. Calls, playing with Sat Nav / radio ya de ya distracts - wearing a seatbelt saves your life when the distracted person runs into you. |
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14th Jul 2013 6:40pm |
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| GUM97 Member Since: 05 Feb 2012 Location: Cheshire Posts: 3555 
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^^ Just wondering what you think of conversation with another person sitting in the car with you? Would you rate that to be as dangerous as having a conversation via hands free kit? An engine to TDi for!
"Land Rover- Proudly turning drivers into mechanics since 1948"  |
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14th Jul 2013 7:54pm |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816  
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Depends, not entirely without risk. How often do I tell my wife when she points at something worth seeing that if she does not mind, I prefer to look where I am going and at what is happening around me..... A lot of people do not realize this, but it does not take much to get distracted in a car, often by presumed innocent things like a simple conversation... Edit: And as to seatbelts, for me it is first put belt on, then start the car. And that goes for all passengers who I take along too.  You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation.
http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw |
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14th Jul 2013 8:56pm |
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| Wangers Member Since: 19 Jan 2013 Location: West London Posts: 265
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In car coversations yes are just as distracting, but probably the only redeeming feature is that if you haven't seen the car stopped / brake lights etc infront of you, there's a good chance that the passengers will, and will generally not withold from letting you know that you've missed it.
Or just tell them to zip it. Yes, same goes for Radio's too loud / call in shows and wearing hedphones but bottom line - you sit in the seat, you are responsible. And if you're classified as a "professional" driver then the implications are much inflated. TY&GN 10 years in a WOLF, WIMIK and Snatch and this is all I have to show! |
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14th Jul 2013 9:13pm |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816
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Going a bit  , but you have hit the nail on the head there. Wearing headphones in a car, or on a bike, or even when walking, is incredibly dangerous. Those people usually have no clue anymore of what is going on around them.
Still this morning close to our house, which is in an agri area, I had a couple of joggers ahead of me. Saw they both were having Iphone headphones on, so stayed with the Defender careful behind them without passing, and when they without first looking around started to cross the road, and then suddenly saw the Defender a few meters from them, she almost screamed.  And then looked as if it was me who was at fault.  You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation.
http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw |
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14th Jul 2013 9:28pm |
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| ZeDefender Member Since: 15 Sep 2011 Location: Munich Posts: 4731
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Funny you should say that. Shortly after our pleasurable time with the French police, my daughter (23 and should know better) suggested I put on headphones to listen to music whilst she slept
I pointed out that we had been in one accident already and I was  if I was going to cause another one
I know she wears headphones when she's training and it worries the hell out of me... Tell someone you love them today because life is short. But shout it at them in German because life is also terrifying and confusing... |
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14th Jul 2013 9:57pm |
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