jay_merrill
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 5,653
I don't often comment on local news, but this one bears discussion.
On Saturday, in an area about an hour west of me, two sisters decided to pack themselves and 13 children (yes, I said 13) in a GMC Safari minivan and take a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The purpose of the trip, was to finish packing a residence, so that the driver of the minivan could move back to the New Orleans area.
I happen to have a Chevy Astrovan, which is identical to the Safari, so I'm familiar with the vehicle involved. The cars have a pair of chair type seats in the front and a pair of bench seats in the middle and rear positions. There are eight seatbelts in them - two shoulder/lap type in the front and a pair of shoulder/lap with one lap only belt, in the middle of the two bench seats.
While driving on Interstate 10 in a place called Acension Parish, the left front tire of the van blew and the driver lost control, striking a large truck at then flipping about 3 times. The children, who ranged in age from infancy to 14 years, all were ejected from the vehicle. Not one of them had a seat belt on, while the two adult women in the front seats did. The only car seat in the van, was lying in the cargo area, at the rear of the vehicle.
The driver died at the scene of the accident, as did four of the kids. Seven of the remaining children are in critical condition, in the hospital. The sister and the two other kids are in stable condition. It remains to be seen whether or not there will be further fatalities.
While this sort of situation is fortunately not common in terms of accidents, I see people driving cars that are overloaded, with unrestrained kids, quite often. I also see normal passenger loads, with unrestrained kids, on basically a daily basis. I used to mind my own business, but these days, this stuff makes me mad and I call the cops.
Is it me, or has today's generation of "parents" just become incredibly lazy and complacent? Sometimes I just want to smack them for being such morons. The cliche statement about having to get a license to have sex, is beginning to look like a good idea!
.
On Saturday, in an area about an hour west of me, two sisters decided to pack themselves and 13 children (yes, I said 13) in a GMC Safari minivan and take a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The purpose of the trip, was to finish packing a residence, so that the driver of the minivan could move back to the New Orleans area.
I happen to have a Chevy Astrovan, which is identical to the Safari, so I'm familiar with the vehicle involved. The cars have a pair of chair type seats in the front and a pair of bench seats in the middle and rear positions. There are eight seatbelts in them - two shoulder/lap type in the front and a pair of shoulder/lap with one lap only belt, in the middle of the two bench seats.
While driving on Interstate 10 in a place called Acension Parish, the left front tire of the van blew and the driver lost control, striking a large truck at then flipping about 3 times. The children, who ranged in age from infancy to 14 years, all were ejected from the vehicle. Not one of them had a seat belt on, while the two adult women in the front seats did. The only car seat in the van, was lying in the cargo area, at the rear of the vehicle.
The driver died at the scene of the accident, as did four of the kids. Seven of the remaining children are in critical condition, in the hospital. The sister and the two other kids are in stable condition. It remains to be seen whether or not there will be further fatalities.
While this sort of situation is fortunately not common in terms of accidents, I see people driving cars that are overloaded, with unrestrained kids, quite often. I also see normal passenger loads, with unrestrained kids, on basically a daily basis. I used to mind my own business, but these days, this stuff makes me mad and I call the cops.
Is it me, or has today's generation of "parents" just become incredibly lazy and complacent? Sometimes I just want to smack them for being such morons. The cliche statement about having to get a license to have sex, is beginning to look like a good idea!
.
