did i do the right thing?

Kay - posted on 04/23/2012

Amy, you stole the words right out of my fingertips. What if he had a gun? What if he had a weapon? What if had just physically assaulted you?

Honestly, I would see about getting a better carseat. I know that your budget is restrictive from your prior post, but if your son was thrown forward from you slamming on the brakes when someone cut you off, please consider how badly he could be injured if your brakes hadn't stopped and you had collided with the other vehicle.

My father was a volunteer firefighter in a small town. He has seen seatbelts crush chests and even decapitate fully grown adults. I don't want to scare you--and seatbelts save way more lives than they will ever cost--but it DOES happen, and a better carseat could significantly improve your child's chance of not being seriously injured in an accident.

Erica - posted on 04/23/2012

This could've turned into a very ugly scene. I realize that the safety of your children is number one & is the reason that you should've probably left him in that parking lot. Hormones & road rage aside, you never know what is going on with other people & what they are capable of. I was involved with a (drunk) indivisual last summer at a park, with other mothers & children. He came from a neighboring residence & was looking for his daughter. He was yelling at other mothers & accusing them of hiding his daughter, though none of us had ever seen him or his daughter before. He then walked near where my children were & kicked one of their belongings. That's when I said something. He ran at me yelling & I was convinced that he was going to hit me, luckily his family came & tried to get him out of the park. As shaken up as I was, my children were very frightened, they were afraid to go back to the park after that day, fearing this weirdo was around there. You just don't know what people are going through themselves or what they might do. Try to keep your phone charged & let the police handle that moron (or future morons). As for the seat belt not being up to date. Try & see if there are any adjustments that could be made. If money is the issue, try to see if there are any organizations that could help, everyone wants to keep kids safe. Good luck & be careful out there.

Jennifer - posted on 04/23/2012

I would have done the same exact thing. Your child's life was in danger, so naturally you flipped out. I don't like bad drivers at all. I'm sorry to say, but it is not safe for a child to be sitting in a car seat that the harness is too tight on.

Katy - posted on 04/23/2012

While I can see why you did what you did, it is always best to err on the side of caution and just keep driving. Any police comment I've heard on the news says the same thing, to leave it to the police.
The new seat belt recommendations, although I don't agree with them, say that a kid needs to be in a five-point harness until 8 years old now. But that's another conversation ...

Erica - posted on 04/22/2012

i did not follow him at all, i cant speed up very fast when the light turns green because the get up and go in the truck is not very good anymore. i just happen to notice that he pulled into mcdonalds when i turned on the road to go towards home. i pulled up next to his car and rolled down my passenger window and yelled at him through my window. my son is too big for 5 pt harness. he is 41lbs and 43in tall. the only way for him to be in a safer car seat is if i were to spend over $100 to get him one that the harness goes up to 65lbs and i am a stay at home mom with my husband being the only one working. i know wish that i would have handled it differently by just going into mcdonalds and calling the police from there and not talking to him the way i did. but it is now in the past.

Amy - posted on 04/22/2012

I honestly don't think you did the right thing. I know how it can be to be consumed with road rage, I've wanted to slam on my breaks if someone is tail gaiting me, I've tail gated people who have pulled out in front of me it doesn't make it the right thing to do and I don't do it when the kids are in the car.

Think worst case scenario what if this guy had a gun, what if he grabbed a crow bar. There you are with no way to call for help all because he made you angry and your kids were witness to it. Next time try to let it go or else it might not go as well as it did this time!