Levi Brailsford let himself out of the back passenger door of a car after unclipping himself from his car seat.
He fell into the road near the junction of Hollway Road and Stockwood Lane, suffering fatal head injuries, in May.Very sad, awful accident, could have been avoided, but now everyone’s wiser after the fact, and we can move on, right?
Wrong.
The two-year-old's family have organised a petition and poster campaign for "Levi's Law", to demand that adults who carry children in their vehicles are responsible for ensuring that the child locks are on.*sigh*
Well, of course! Not a campaign to raise awareness, a campaign to demand the State take over the tricky business of ensuring that the person chosen to convey your child is a fit one. I mean, can’t leave that to the parents and relatives, can we?
Speaking of relatives:
Levi's grandmother Christine said…Hang on! Wasn’t a grandmother the one who..? Why, yes. Yes, it was.
Is it the same grandmother? Because if so, this is a statement of such monumental chutzpah it fair takes my breath away…
…"The sponsored walk is intended to raise awareness of the importance of child safety, particularly whilst travelling in vehicles.
"We are trying to people aware of the importance(sic) of making sure that child locks are put on the back doors of all vehicles. If they had been put on the vehicle Levi was travelling in, then he would not have opened the door and fallen to his death."So, you are demanding a change to the law to ensure that all vehicles are fitted with child locks? All new vehicles? All old vehicles as well?
Even if you don’t plan to carry children in them?
Even if you don’t have children?
Good grief, this is the rollerblind cord debacle all over again, isn’t it? And thanks to the utter cluelessness and ratings-chasing of the former PR flack that is our dish-faced cretin of a Prime Minister, these people will be calling the shots in future:
"I will never forget meeting the Dowler family in Downing Street to run through the terms of this inquiry with them and to hear what they had been through and how it had redoubled, trebled the pain and agony they'd been through over losing Milly. I'll never forget that, and that's the test of all this," he said.Yes, I know he's talking about press regulation, but think about it. Satisfying the bereaved parents (a very photogenic and middle class set of bereaved parents) is the test. Not whether it's legal. Not whether it's proportionate. But whether it satisfies their need for action.
How long before that attitude spreads to other areas?
13 comments:
Right! Two years old he should BY LAW have been strapped in to a proper childs car seat. So, were the doors not locked? was the seat not fitted? Usual blame everyone but yourselves from monumental cretins. Before anyone starts: 1. I have three kids of my own, and they were always properly strapped in. 2. I'm sorry the kids dead.
I doubt if many people would disagree with you Robert, so the Grandmother was breaking the law by not having the child strapped into a car seat and in the position where the child could open the door. 'My grandchild has died due to my negligence, blame the government says grandmother.'
"So, you are demanding a change to the law to ensure that all vehicles are fitted with child locks? All new vehicles? All old vehicles as well?"
They will have fun pushing that legislation on me.
1) My 1990 Panda is a 2 door car.
2) I've removed the back seats to make more room for tools & stuff.
3) I haven't got any kids, anyway...
A conviction for 'negligent homicide' of the grandmother would do more to make people remember to make certain the children are securely fixed in
"How long before that attitude spreads to other areas?"
Sorry, Julia, but you've seriously missed the boat on this one. It's not a case of "how soon" but of "how many decades ago did this change".
"Sarah's Law"
s63, CJIA 08 - Jane Longhurst
We're well past it being "how soon".
I am with you on this one too Julia. It is a difficult and emotive subject, but I am sick and tired of relatives of those that have died tragically, demanding more and more pointless regulation. The authorities need to grow some balls and just say no rather then pandering to them and wasting thousands of hours of public time and money.
This is another good example.
http://www.heart.co.uk/dunstable/news/local/couple-call-tighter-pool-regulations/
This family were at a relations party when their toddler son wandered off into a neighbours garden. Somehow he ended up in the swimming pool in that garden and was found under a plastic cover over the pool. A tragedy. The family are demanding regulations to the effect that all swimming pools must be fenced off and must be covered with a hard cover that can withstand a child walking on it. Bloody ridiculous! The local Council are supporting it and have got involved in a huge awareness camapign.
Did you notice the passive tone "if locks had been put on..." theodore Dalrymple notes this in criminals. No love, if YOU had locked the door, the kid would still have been alive.
"Right! Two years old he should BY LAW have been strapped in to a proper childs car seat. "
He apparently was, though managed to 'wriggle free'. Wonder why they aren't suing the car seat manufacturers?
"They will have fun pushing that legislation on me."
I guess there'd have to be an exemption for unsuitable vehicles, as there is with the seat belt legislation. But I'd much rather it didn't get that far!
"A conviction for 'negligent homicide' of the grandmother would do more to make people remember to make certain the children are securely fixed in"
Indeed! But it'd take a CPS guy with balls of pure titanium.
" It's not a case of "how soon" but of "how many decades ago did this change"."
Ah. True :(
"The authorities need to grow some balls and just say no rather then pandering to them ..."
Indeed! I caught the pool nonsense just as I was sitting down to eat yesterday on the early evening news.
Nearly hurled my hotpot at the tv!
"Did you notice the passive tone "if locks had been put on...""
Yup! I've started to look out for it now.
The article says,
"Most of the donations will be forwarded to the air ambulance service, with some being set aside for a headstone for Levi's grave."
Could it be that the publicity is aimed at generating income by way of public donations?
Irresponsible. Such a shame for the child,
This is just a way of deflecting her own guilt, by implying that the law should have prevented her negligence, or technology the consequences.
This type of reaction is becoming more and more common: Preventable oversight leads to tragic outcome, and the delinquent party throws him/herself into a campaign "so that no-one else has to endure what I have been through". On the face of it, it looks like a resolute, principled, chanelling of grief and remorse, into a safer environment for the public. How brave, how compassionate, how public spirited.
How fraudulent....
Monty
Good grief, this is the rollerblind cord debacle all over again, isn’t it?
Purple prose there, Julia.
Nun of u have a clue what is going on in that family so what rite do u have to comment. Yes he was straped in to a car seat whitch he managed to undo as most children his age can do, and yes the child lock was on on his side of the car, he had gon across to the other door and opened it. And as for the petition, dont u think its justvaway for them to be dealing with there lose and if thats what thay want to do just leave them alone. Untill a something like this happens to any of you ( i hope it never does) u dont know what u would do to cope with it.
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