Children bouncing around loose in moving cars

[Maciamo]

Japanese often wear mask when they are sick to avoid contaminating others. Taxi drivers also wear gloves and it's not to avoid spreading microbes when they hand the bills, just a quite of fashion (they feel like F1 drivers !). There is no need to jump to conclusions just because you see people wearing masks. I've seen hotel cleaners or people working outside wearing masks well before SARS existed. If you go to Thailand, you'll see policemen and tuktuk drivers wearing masks to, but that's because of pollution.

 

[doudesuka]

I think the masks are the only preventive measures that Japanese take. The small things that could cause a cold but forget about the bigger measures that cost lives. I have seen many close calls. Definitely a head shaker!: confused:

 

[budd]

hahaha (edit: in my experience,) these were regular people driving personal vehicles (i guess, i didn't flag them down and ask them)
edit again: removing icons

 

[kirei_na_me]

:atchoo:

 

[doudesuka]

Just in the past days I have seen some really gross cases of negligence with young children in cars.

* I saw a couple of young kids in the back of a squad car not even secured down. But, then I remembered they don't have seatbelts in backseats here. But, I was truly disgusted.

* Some young mothers were behind me at a stop light. They had a baby on one mother's lap and 3 young 3-4yr. old boys standing between the front seats while in motion.

* Just last night, I saw another car with a booster seat not being used sitting against that back window. One childeat being improperly used as the child was just sitting in the seat.

I know I can't do anything about it! But, it just infuriates me of the total ignorance of these mothers. The total disregard of safety for their children. The very children they would protect if someone(gaijin) would probably accidently bump.
I know it happened to me in Tokyo once. I accidently pushed the wrong button on the elevator as a mother was rushing to get in.
I was trying to be polite and keep the door open.
She totally blew up at me in the elevator among the other Japanese. I sincerely apologized to her but she pushed me away while yelling at me. That has been my worse experience here. by the way, the door didn't hit her or her baby.

 

[Sgt. Wang]

Wow. *Catatonic Shock*

 

[doudesuka]

I know I sound like an old bitty but,...

this is really bothering me.

How can you help people realize that they are putting their children in danger.

My husband and I have a dilema now with his family not using a child seat at all. I though they had one before for our nephew, 3.
Yesterday, we had a memorial service for his grandparents.
After we finished,. our nephew jumped in our car and put his seatbelt on. We were put on the spot. It is very hard for us to emphasize this with them that he is too young to be out of a childseat and we don't like him riding with us if he has no childseat. They think we are being difficult. I can't believe the total lack of commons sense there. Even with his grandmother.
She is old enough to realize the wisdom in this.
Anyone have any suggestions on how we can handle this gently without causing rifs in the family

 

[doudesuka]

Why can't they enforce this? They seem all crazy about safety issues for somethings but this is the most important thing.
Japan has been complaining about the birthrate going down but their doing nothing to make sure the young now are being kept safe. Too bad you can't put billboards showing the cause of a child not being in a car seat. I know that wouldn't go well.
It would just remind them of their negligence.

 

[kirei_na_me]

Ah, elders...

I think when dealing with elders, there is really no hope. Even here, my grandmother doesn't see what the big deal is about putting my kids in their carseats. We live in a very small town, where everything is just a couple or few blocks away, and she just cannot see what the fuss is about. If I insist that we go in my car because their seats can't fit into her car, she also thinks I'm just being difficult. I have to agree it's maddening, but they come from a different time, I guess. When there wasn't as much traffic and when the traffic was moving slower and it seems they are thinking it's still that way. You could try to explain to them, but if they are like my grandmother, they would just shake their heads like you're crazy...

 

[doudesuka]

Well, grandma is pretty young. She is 57 yrs old. Yeah, but your right. They are from a different period of time. But, his mother is younger than I and she should know better. I think she does.
I think they all do but the seats are too taihen.

My husband tries to say no but they always seem to win.
I think I will go to a recycle shop and find one for our car.

 

[doudesuka]

My nephew loves me. We have a close bond. He likes to ride with us when we are all together as a family. It's funny though. he jumps in my car and puts his seatbelt on immediately.
he calls me Jenniesan, jenniesan. kaimono iku. pikachu mitai.

 

[Picardo]

im not even going to try understanding japanese people when it comes to somethings, they often have a very special way of looking at things, no offence doudesuka, if you are indigenous to japan i meen.

 

[doudesuka]

none taken.ﾂ You are very rightﾂ！They have a total different set of values andthinking than westerners.ﾂ I am a westerner by the way.

 

[Ewok85]

I had a car accident just 2 weeks back where I rearend a person whilst doing 60 (they had stopped). I always wear my seatbelt, its pure instinct, doesnt matter if im moving the car 5m to wash it or driving to uni that belts on. They bloody work. But not on small kids, they dont sit around the neck properly and the force applied to the hips if you do stop along with whiplash can be fatal. And none? Well we had a small fluffy bear on the front dash, and from me going 60->0 in a second it smashed the windscreen where it hit, a child not strapped in would have rocketed out of the car... ...

In Australia helmets are required by law for bicycles and motorcycles. Wearing or not wearing a helmet is a SAFETY ISSUE, not a civil rights issue. Having a law about helmets is a civil rights issue, which is no excuse to put yourself in danger anyway.

Like everyone else has said it never cease to amaze me how Japanese people can get all worried about meaningless things like a cold (yay, i'll drink some water and go to bed early, i'll be fine) but drive like maniacs (150k/hr !?!?) without seatbelts, ride bicycles like nuts without helmets, let their kids just run amuck.

 

[Buddha Smoker]

Like everyone else has said it never cease to amaze me how Japanese people can get all worried about meaningless things like a cold (yay, i'll drink some water and go to bed early, i'll be fine) but drive like maniacs (150k/hr !?!?) without seatbelts, ride bicycles like nuts without helmets, let their kids just run amuck.

Yeah, no kidding...I wish they would be a little bit stricter on the kid-safety thing in the car.