[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

Hi Fellow T-BHPians,

I put him in the rear seat of the car and fastened the seatbelt. Before closing the door, I engaged the child lock. I did not want this kid opening the door when I was driving. I then got in, and locked the window buttons so that he cannot lower the windows either. Switched on the car, belted up and took a brisk U-Turn and went towards the older sibling’s school. Reached there and went to the security guard and told him what had happened. He promptly took me to the principal’s office where I narrated the whole incident to her. All this while the child was crying. She calmly took the child into her arms and asked me to go outside her cabin and wait. Within ten minutes, they had managed to silence the child and also located the older sibling. They then called the mother and informed her to take her kids home and also attend to the father. The principal madam then came outside, thanked me for my efforts and said I could leave and that they would take over from this point onwards. I thanked her and left the place. As I was leaving I received a WhatsApp message from my Sister-in-Law that she had dropped my daughter off to school and she had also reached office safely. I thanked her and put my phone back in the pocket only to realize that I had the Polo driver’s phone in my pocket. At that moment I saw a woman rush into the school. Must have been the mother. I went back and saw the principal madam standing there and I handed over the mobile phone to her and walked out.

....

Drive safe, please!
BR

Kudos to you for a great job! Your presence of mind and willingness to help is commendable. You utilized many of the safety features of the car to its full advantage to secure your child as well as the child affected with the incident. Usually it is hard to determine the correct set of actions in an accident because there is so much that goes on, but I feel you handled it very well. God helps those who do good things and I believe your sister-in-law's arrival on the scene is just one of those actions from god.

Great job brother. Thank you for being such a good example!!

[libranof1987]

Terrific, BR. Hats off to your presence of mind, and more importantly, getting involved in this situation to help out, regardless of your own schedule and the fear of getting stuck in formalities.

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

On the way to office, I realized that I was a Hero to my family.

You were a hero not just to your family, but that of the Polo as well; and many more, by sharing your story.

[bharatbits]

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

I have taken a vow today. Number of seatbelts fastened in my car will always be equal to the number of passengers. Whether they like it or not.

Drive safe, please!
BR

I diligently put on the seat belt in the driving seat and ask my co driver also to do it. But, i must admit the rear seat belts have been neatly tucked away. I must start insisting on rear occupants also to fasten their seat belts. When something like this can happen at city speeds we all must be careful. Thanks for sharing. Bought tears to my eyes thinking what the other family members of the victim must have gone through.

Bangalore, being quite developed i am sure some CC cam must have captured that incident. Catch hold of that lady, show her the entire sequence and say nothing. Let her go.

[sabujsen]

Great presence of mind. I wish more people act like you. I have seen crowds taking pictures of accidents heartlessly and not helping the victim. I hope this inspires all of us to do what you did.

[AZT]

I guess my paternal instincts took over and I began consoling the child.

What you did was fantastic. Such experiences can leave a child traumatized for a long time, you were calm and composed throughout. We also need more awareness about how kids below 12 years should not be seated in the front seat. Found this article about the US where vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death among children
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/...ety/index.html

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

I have taken a vow today. Number of seatbelts fastened in my car will always be equal to the number of passengers. Whether they like it or not.

Drive safe, please!
BR

Indeed, while we Indians like to blame our policing, our cars and our roads for the absolutely appalling no. of deaths from road accidents in India, a lot of it is from our own making!

I actually have had friends and family who mock me for putting my seatbelt while driving in smaller roads at low speeds and when I put the rear seatbelt (if I sit in the back), they think I'm just being obnoxious! It's sad really!

What we do need are educational programs in schools for road safety since this has to be ingrained into our kid's minds so that they grow up to be responsible adults! Also, when the kids act responsibly, it might have some impact on the households!

[kalpeshc]

Thank you for what you did for a random stranger. Most of us don't know how we'd react when we are in a situation like this and like you said that your internal instincts may take over. I hope that I have strength to do what you did, if I ever am in a situation like that. Thanks a lot for sharing this. Reading this would hopefully nudge most of us to react the way you did in such situations.

[luvDriving]

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

Hi Fellow T-BHPians,


Drive safe, please!
BR

You sir are really quite the hero. Real heroes just act in the moment and only later do they realize their actions just as you have done.

I learnt the lesson of looking before joining or merging into a main road very early on. I had just begun riding and on one of the rides I stupidly merged onto the main road from a side road without a look at the traffic.

An elderly gentleman was riding with his daughter on a scooter and he had to panic brake due to my actions. He came along side me and in a calm but stern voice told me - "Young lad, never do such thing again - you might cost someone else their limb or worse their life. Always check before merging".

Well that was enough for me. Also the added fact that he did not curse or berate me - just educated me which had the desired effect.

[amitahirrao]

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

Hi Fellow T-BHPians,


Immediately, I went back to the car and saw a little boy, probably four years or less in the passenger side footwell. This kid was in the front passenger seat and was also not wearing his seatbelt. Due to the impact and his little size, I believe, he had slid off the leatherette seat and landed into the footwell, miraculously missing the dashboard. He had a superficial scratch to his right arm, probably due to the plastic on the center console. On one side I was really angry considering the negligence on part of the father but on the other side, I guess my paternal instincts took over and I began consoling the child.

As all of this happened, my daughter was still in the car and I could see her from the windshield of my car.

Drive safe, please!
BR

Well done and hats off! Please buy a proper booster seat with 3 point belted installation for your kid if you don't have yet.

While I was reading your story I was wondering what would have happened to kid if it was not sliding and falling in the footwell. Not everyone is lucky to escape such incidents.

[eRajesh]

Commendable job @Boothroyd! I have never really paid much attention to wearing seatbelts while sitting at the back. Time to change that, I guess.

[Swajith]

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

Then “EUREKA”! I recollected that this little fellow had a sibling in a nearby school. I put him in the rear seat of the car and fastened the seatbelt. Before closing the door, I engaged the child lock. I did not want this kid opening the door when I was driving. I then got in, and locked the window buttons so that he cannot lower the windows either. Switched on the car, belted up and took a brisk U-Turn and went towards the older sibling’s school.

Well done BoothRoyd
Your brain worked pretty well throughout the incident especially the steps that you have taken after you placed the kid in the rear seat.
We should always engage the child lock and windows lock when we have kids in the car.
With the kind of traffic in Bangalore and the speeds that are maintained by vehicles, occupants in the car will remain completely safe in most of the cases when buckled.
Also we can get a decent child seat starting from Rs. 3000 and will definitely help in keeping the kids safe.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by eRajesh

Commendable job @Boothroyd! I have never really paid much attention to wearing seatbelts while sitting at the back. Time to change that, I guess.

Much discussed already, but just search YouTube for a British PSA TV ad "Julie knew her killer."

In two minutes, you will decide not only to wear rear seat belts, but also to make sure that the person sitting behind you does.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Much discussed already, but just search YouTube for a British PSA TV ad "Julie knew her killer."

With due permission Thad Sir,

Julie Knew Her Killer

I've shown this video to many of my known people and patients.

Last week I had a patient who has suffered fractures in his skull bone with no other injuries anywhere. That particular injury was due to him hitting the B pillar of the car he was in, on the driver side rear seat. Thankfully, the driver was not injured due to seatbelts plus major factor being that he was not hit from behind by my patient as a cannon ball.

[BoothRoyd]

Hello Friends,

Hope you’re all doing well.
New update to report since the unfortunate events that happened in November 2019.

I’m happy to inform you all that the polo and the owner have both been mended and are back on the road. I was at the local super market with my wife yesterday evening. After shopping for the groceries and loading them into the car, wife remembered she had to buy some medicines for her mother. So she went to the pharmacy near the super market. As I was waiting for her, decided to have a smoke. As I was standing next to my car and looking at some messages on my phone a guy approached me and said, Sir, do you remember me? I had no clue who he was and said No, sorry I can’t. He took his mask off and reminded me of the accident that took place. He is well now and post some minor stitches and surgeries he has recovered well. Apparently he was also at the same super market shopping and saw me standing there and came to speak to me and thank me. After speaking to him for some time about his injuries and checking on how he was doing now we said our good byes and wished each other good luck. Wife was back in the car and we left from there. Felt good that he had recovered well. Just made my day. Happy feeling over all.

Drive safe
BR

[WhiteSierra]

Originally Posted by BoothRoyd

Hello Friends,

I’m happy to inform you all that the polo and the owner have both been mended and are back on the road. Felt good that he had recovered well. Just made my day. Happy feeling over all.

Feels great to read this post. I really prayed for his recovery after reading that he has 2 young kids, and they should be taken care of. Again thanks for your timely support and your presence of mind for handling that situation at ease.