Suckage-- please wear seatbelts and use car seats

[chrissy]

GAM, I really don't think this is auto, it might be suckage but anyway...


Tonight, the GS leaders met at Cold Stone to finish up our paperwork for the end of the year. We were almost finished and we heard, SQUEEL! POP! OMG!

Two cars, a red firebird and a older grey car had ran into each other. The red car had two passengers and the grey had 5 -- mom, dad (driver), grandma, 14 yr old boy and 3-4 yr boy cousin.

I called 911. Ralaya, Michelle, Lisa and Kim ran out to help *Ralaya is CNA one semester away from RN, Lisa is an RN and Michelle is first responder qualified. The rest of us have first aid and cpr training.

We didn't see it happen, just saw the 14 yr old stumble and fall. He got out of the car on his own and collapsed. We were all half way to the 6 lane road by then (Craig). The mom is hysterical. Kim is holding her down to keep her away from the teen, Ralaya has him down and talking with him so he doesn't move. Lisa is with the grandma -- we don't think she will make it (no seatbelt) The little boy, no car seat. They took him away on a backboard. He didn't look to good either. According to the teen, no one had seatbelts on in the backseat. Out of the 7 in the accident, 6 went to the hospital on backboards.

Why risk it? especially with the little ones?

And rubberneckers!!! Why? you see fire trucks coming from one direction, a block behind you is an ambulance, so don't stop and gawk! Get moving! Get out of the way! So little o' me, I am yelling at cars/directing them, trying to get them to move so the police and ambulances can get up to the accident. They would stop and look for periods of time (seconds but when you have 20 cars behind you that NEED TO MOVE so the emergency help can get to the scene and they are telling me to Fck off. How classy.


And Audie, she was with us tonight. There were a few younger girls there too. She kept them all up by the storefront, but she saw what I saw (the boy collapsing and the pieces of the car scattering). She started to run out to help at first, but I asked her to go back while I was on hold for 911. She did a good job helping with the little ones. She was shaken by it though. She said that it keeps rewinding and playing in her head. She wanted to be able to do more. I don't think she understands what more would entail. We talked for a bit before she went to sleep. We will probably talk about it more tomorrow too.

[Jenny]

Sucky! I have always worn a car seat/seatbelt & so have Josh & Scott. None of us has ever blinked when we got in the car. it's just automatic.

[DarkFury]

People are just IDIOTS around accident scenes... Something similiar happend here at my job (a lady passed out on our floor) and people were climbing over the cubicle walls trying to get "a look".

Pretty much, by the time the Emergency team got here, they had to wade through a crowd of folks...

IDIOTS I tell you.... IDIOTS!!!

[molecularfire]

Man, that sucks. Yeah, definitely wear seat belts. I knew this kid once who was in a car with his mother and they got into an accident while exiting the freeway by some idiot who decided last minute to exit the freeway and didn't notice that there was a car in the place he wanted to go to. Anyways, neither were wearing seat belts. The mother had her chest crushed by the steering wheel and died. The son flew out through the winshield, landed on some train tracks and got run over by the train. Oddly enough, he actually survived after a little over a month in a coma but will probably never fully recover his mental ability.

btw... I had a discussion about slowing by accidents with a friend of mine once. We were driving by an accident on the road (minor fender bender) that looked like it occurred pretty recently. No sirens or anything heard, there were a couple of people walking around looking at the cars... Anyways, he slowed down lowered the window and asked if they needed any help. They said no thanks and we drove on. He says that he does that at accidents to be nice. My position is I'll slow down/stop to help if I don't see anybody around the car (and it doesn't look like just a little fender bender) or if someone is trying to flag me down but otherwise I'll assume that they're doing ok. I will call it in if it looks like a major accident but that's pretty much it. Just curious what other people's opinions is.

[cheapie]

Man, that sucks. Yeah, definitely wear seat belts. I knew this kid once who was in a car with his mother and they got into an accident while exiting the freeway by some idiot who decided last minute to exit the freeway and didn't notice that there was a car in the place he wanted to go to. Anyways, neither were wearing seat belts. The mother had her chest crushed by the steering wheel and died. The son flew out through the winshield, landed on some train tracks and got run over by the train. Oddly enough, he actually survived after a little over a month in a coma but will probably never fully recover his mental ability.

btw... I had a discussion about slowing by accidents with a friend of mine once. We were driving by an accident on the road (minor fender bender) that looked like it occurred pretty recently. No sirens or anything heard, there were a couple of people walking around looking at the cars... Anyways, he slowed down lowered the window and asked if they needed any help. They said no thanks and we drove on. He says that he does that at accidents to be nice. My position is I'll slow down/stop to help if I don't see anybody around the car (and it doesn't look like just a little fender bender) or if someone is trying to flag me down but otherwise I'll assume that they're doing ok. I will call it in if it looks like a major accident but that's pretty much it. Just curious what other people's opinions is.

it's a car wreck. if you can't slow down and stare at those, what can you stare at? well...girls waving car wash signs of course.

[zero2dash]

I don't know if this is done country-wide, but here in Missouri, they do "Click-It or Ticket" things all the time where they have roadblocks and they check to see if people have their seatbelts on and if kids are properly restrained (either with seatbelts or carseats depending upon age)...and if you're caught you get tickets, I don't remember if they add extra fines or anything though.

It's (supposedly from what local news reports) has helped keep people safely restrained in their cars...if it's not a nationwide thing, it certainly oughta be. I don't get what the big deal is...you get in a car, you put on the belt...it's not rocket science. And I also have to say - rubberneckers screw it up for everyone. "Ooooh ooh a cop pulled someone over, I've gotta look and backup traffic for 2 miles in the process 'cause I'm an idiot."

[molecularfire]

There is a mandatory seat belt law in California also (don't know if it's federal or state but it is here in Cali.) but there are still plenty of idiots who drive without buckling up.

[Grubbie]

Seatbelts are so key, and I know MA and WA have been pushing their Clikc it or Ticket campain. I just can't see how peopel won't wear them, and a lot of people are like "im just driving 2 blocks down the street to the store, I don't need a seatbelt", and if they get in an accident in those two blocks.....

I know a girl who I was friends with in highschool was in a truck with her friend(she was the passenger), on a highway. One of the tires just blew out and yanked the truck right off the highway. The ended up going over the guardrail, tumbling down a 40ft hill and probably rolling over atleast 6 times. The truck was absolutely crushed, just totaled. Both walked away with just scratches and bruises cause they were wearing their seatbelt, if they wern't both would be dead. And even then, the fire dept was suprised they survived with their seatbelts on.

I just think of it this way, if you were to jump out of a plane, would you want to check to make sure the parachute was correctly packed first? Of course, you wouldnt' want to take the risk of something going wrong and dying... so why wouldn't you want to wear a seatbelt.

[kimchicowboy]

after my friend died in 7th grade for not wearing a seatbelt (a tire amazingly came off, the car flipped, he was thrown out the window, and the car landed on him), i NEVER drive without my seatbelt fastened and i don't let passengers in my car sit without being buckled. i have no qualms lecturing old and young alike in a car to put their seatbelt on. just not worth it.

[zero2dash]

a lot of people are like "im just driving 2 blocks down the street to the store, I don't need a seatbelt", and if they get in an accident in those two blocks.....

Good that you mentioned that (I forgot all about that)...statistics show that most people are involved in accidents less than 2 blocks from their home. People all the time say "I'm just driving down the street" etc and it's like "how long does it take to buckle a seatbelt? oh yeah don't put one on 'cause YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE, it takes too long"

[Grubbie]

Good that you mentioned that (I forgot all about that)...statistics show that most people are involved in accidents less than 2 blocks from their home. People all the time say "I'm just driving down the street" etc and it's like "how long does it take to buckle a seatbelt? oh yeah don't put one on 'cause YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE, it takes too long"

Yup, my dad would always tell me that most people got in accidents within like 5 or 10mins from their house. I always wear a seatbelt because I don't trust 95% of the people on the road. I can drive just fine, but I can't help it if a drunk or somebody runs a red and T-bones me.

[MrGreg]

I always wear a seatbelt and feel naked without one.

[ooBaKeep]

You're a fool if you don't wear a seatbelt. If you want to risk your own life that is fine... but to risk someone elses, like a child's is, in my opinion criminal!

[Mommypooh]

I am not to good about always remembering mine, but with my kids I am very adament about them always being in a carseat, that is properly sized and correctly installed. I still have to go and be taught how to use the LATCH. I have several friends who will have me install their carseats and then not let anyone take them out. I am proud to say that when it comes to a carseat I can get them tight enough that you can not move the top back of them more than a half inch. I am getting better about a seatbelt for myself I forget about 19 out of 20 times as opposed to never wearing one for the first 2 years I was driving.