Don't they love their pets?

I'm really more of a dog person than a cat person, but my cat, Tiger Woods is a dog-cat. (My daughter wants to rename him "Phil Mickelson" because she's mad at Tiger, but that's another story). He really is an exceptional cat and I love him.
He hates the car and cries almost constantly when we take him to the cottage or the vet. If we can spare him the discomfort, we leave him home - but sometimes it's necessary to take him along. In those cases, he travels in his pet taxi. It's a closed container that we make as comfy as possible for him, but I would never let him run free in the car. I'd be afraid he'd jump in my lap as I was headed down the highway and I'd crash the vehicle!
But I see people with pets in their laps on the road all the time.
Don't they love their pets?
I know that dogs travel better in cars, but allowing them to sit in their laps is so dangerous. There are so many reasons this is wrong, but one is - the airbag! Don't they know that if the airbag deploys, their beloved pet will be crushed to death, and they could be badly injured too?

If you love your pet, restrain it in the car. Pet seat belts are available. So are pet taxis like the one Tiger Woods has.

When will parents learn?

The link below is to an article in Yahoo News about a 5 year-old who crashed his van into his house and other property.
Yes - a 5-year old!
His mother was taking him skating and forgot the skates so she left the car running with him in it and when back into the house to get them. He got out of his car seat, moved into the driver's seat and put the car in reverse.
Fortunately, he wasn't hurt and the damage was minor but the story could have ended in any number of really terrible scenarios.
When will some parents learn that you NEVER leave a child alone in a running vehicle?

"The Middle" and Being the Cool Parents

Did you watch "The Middle" last night?
It's a very funny show with a great cast and even greater writing. In last night's episode, the parents realized their son, Axel, was spending a lot of time at his friend's house because the friend's house was cooler and the friend's parents were cooler than they were.
They started a campaign to become the coolest parents. They bought a pool table, bought cool junk food snacks to serve to their kids' visiting friends and said things to kids that they thought were the cool things to say.
Needless to say - it all back-fired. They practically went broke buying the snacks and had to hide out to eat dinner to avoid getting swarmed by hungry teens. The pool table ended up piled with junk. The 'cool' things they said blew up and caused trouble. And the bottom line was that they tried so hard to be cool that they forgot to be parents.
Parenting is hard work and takes some tough choices. When parents make decisions based on being cool - they'll fail every time.
I read about a mom who tried to be cool by tossing her car keys to her unlicensed, uninsured son so he could pick up his friends. He killed 2 of the friends in a crash caused by his careless driving. That "cool" mom is now in prison. Her son has yet to be sentenced but will never get overkilling his friends.
Parents need to make the best decisions they can - to support and safeguard their kids. Being 'cool' shouldn't even be a remote consideration.

Girl Drivers are Becoming as Aggressive as Boys

In the last 10 days, we've driven to Florida and back. That's more than 50 hours on the road - (mostly I75) and I have to tell you - there were a lot of aggressive speedsters weaving in and out of traffic along the way!
Surprisingly (to me) at least 50% were teen girls - often with cell phones pressed into the sides of their heads. Most of them were alone and doing 10 to 20 miles over the limit. I watched as they cut off other drivers without ever even looking.

I remember the days when teen boys paid 2 to 3 times more for car insurance than girls because the girls were much more careful drivers. Sadly, that seems to be changing. Insurance rates for girls are getting higher as their crash rates climb.
This is one area where I don't want equality for my daughter.
Have other parents noticed this trend?
What are you doing about it?

I Pray that a Police Officer Gives My Daughter a Whopping Speeding Ticket!

... because that ticket could save her life.
If I don't know she's speeding or driving recklessly, I can't change it. She'll continue doing what she's doing until something terrible happens and I don't even want to think about that! I just don't get why some parents don't understand that.

6,000 teen drivers die in crashes every year. Every one of them was someone's son or daughter.

I bring this up because of what's happening in New Jersey now. Kyleigh's Law is a new law that requires teen-aged drivers to display a decal on their license plate. The force behind it is Donna Weeks of Long Valley, New Jersey. Donna lost her beautiful daughter, Kyleigh D'Alessio, in a crash in 2006. Since then, she's done everything in her power to make the roads safer for other teens.
Other parents should thank God for parents like Donna. The advantage of the decals is to identify teens with restricted licenses so police can enforce the GDL rules. If teens are driving after curfew or with other teen passengers, they can be pulled over, ticketed and their parents can be advised. A side benefit could be that teens would obey the law.

These are very good things! I've talked to too many parents who's lost sons and daughters in crashes and found out later that their teens had a need for speed or drove when they shouldn't have been driving. They wish they'd had the opportunity to talk to their teens about their behavior and change it, but it was too late.

My teen daughter, Emily, is the most precious thing in my life so I'm thrilled that there are rules in place to protect her. And if she's breaking a rule - I WANT to know about it. She'd pay for the ticket out of her own pocket, lose her driving privileges for a while and I'd send a THANK YOU card to the officer who stopped her!

It's time for people like Gregg Trautmann to parent-up. Greg is a lawyer who challenged Kyleigh's Law under the pretense of representing his son, Tim Dillon. Of course, Tim doesn't want any restrictions! He's eighteen and his brain won't mature for another 7 to 10 years! Tim is quoted in NJ.com as saying His little sister will be driving soon and he's fearful for her. "I don’t want her driving around with a sticker on her car that labels her a teen driver. I think it’s dangerous for her.” She could be stalked if some nut identifies her as a teen driver. (- Of course, without the decal - that nut could just look in the window!)
According to NJ.com, attorney Trautmann also "argued in court that the decals amount to an unreasonable search and seizure, and violate 'equal protection' rights because out-of-state drivers won’t be subject to them — unlike a speed-limit applicable to all drivers.
Of course that's a load of c--p too!
Thank heaven the judge saw through the nonsense and upheld Kyleigh's Law.