The Stupidest Driver/Father Of All Time?

[StuartG]

For reasons I can't go into I can't report this to the police. Hence my apologies for having to bent my spleen here.

I was walking down a quiet Welsh lane today when a car passed me from behind. Not at great speed which allowed me time to digest that a tiny lad (5/6/7?) was at the wheel. He was sitting on his dad's lap! It turned into a bungalow and they both got out. The father was in bare feet.

There may have been worse but my vision was impaired by jaw hitting ground.

I think I more worried by this guy's position as a father than as a driver. He really is a peril to us all. I just have difficulty trying to understand what could have impelled him to do this. I will be biking up that lane tomorrow - carefully.

That's my starter for ten. Anybody going to top it?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

This happens all the time in Bahrain, where my dad's lived for the last 30 years or so. So much so, in fact, that children are known locally as "crunchy airbags". Which I'm afraid I think quite funny.

 

[funnymummy]

My parents house is on a CulDeSac, I sat on his lap & 'drove' the car down it on a regular basis when I was a youngling, and round his works car park too... By the time I was 9 I could reach the pedals & he used to let me reverse it into the garage for him!
Mind you this was in an era where no one wore seatbelts, smoking while pregnant was ok & leaving your children with the Butlins wandering 'babysitters' was still acceptable

 

[Matty]

Pretty silly to do on the public highway. I used to do it on the drive. I allow my daughter to do it reversing onto the drive.

 

[twobiker]

When we were on holiday in Wales we went to Pendine Sands and my two daughters drove along the beach, not at the same time obviously, sat on my lap, one drove into soft sand and a Land Rover had to tow us out, Happy Days !.

 

[XmisterIS]

Apparently my great-uncle used to drive up and down the road with all his kids hanging onto the outside of the car. Mind you, that was about 50 or 60 years ago when there was much less traffic than nowadays! And I say "hanging" - it was an old-fashioned car with running boards which they stood on.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I used to love my little driving sessions, when we got to the forest, about 100 yards from our favoured picnic spot

It was always quiet, clear and never near any other road users at all though - certainly if a car or bike did appear my father would have taken over again and pulled over

 

[jefmcg]

Hence my apologies for having to bent my spleen here.

Um ... vent your spleen.

 

[Chris-H]

Wow how the memories flood back,i remember as a young lad sitting on my Dads lap steering the car down our cul-de-sac,went on to do the same with my kids who are all now teenagers and left school but still remember their "driving" experiences

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

Yeah my Grandad let my brother drive his car down a quiet country lane when he was about 9. I never got the chance!!!

I think that's the crux here - the bloke probably thought it was so quiet it would be okay - I presume he had control of the car too and that's why nobody steered into you or anything?

What's the problem with the bare feet? I can't remember what the law is on this one but I am sure that somebody will remind me!!!

 

[tyred]

My dad used to let me do this all the time. It was normal for dads to do so in low traffic settings. If I had children, I would do the same. I'm sure the dad still had a hand on the bottom of the wheel.

 

[jay clock]

1970s we did this with my grandfather sitting on his lap for the 100m down his cul de sac! Just the steering. We loved it

 

[Dora]

My Dad used to let me 'drive' up and down southport beach! We had a Range Rover (not cause we were rich - cause my dad was a land-rover nut) so I learned at an early age how to rescue other cars from soft sand, mud and the 45° sea breaks that people thought it was fun to park on - it was very often the highlight of my day at the beach!

As a teenager, if we were passing his work, he'd sometimes call in for a cuppa while my Stepsister and I drove round and round the yard.

Fun times!

As for the bare feet - I have several friends who just won't wear shoes when driving. Some do various types of racing (on racetracks, not roads) and say it helps with control. IIRC, the highway code recommends you wear shoes, but I don't think it's stated in law.

 

[LosingFocus]

Love how this "Rahhhh, angry angry" thread has become a "oh yah, I did that when I was young, so so brilliant and fun".

FWIW, I loved "driving" on my Dad's lap when I was 8/9. Brilliant fun.

 

[LosingFocus]

Once on a school trip (1970s) the coach driver let one of the teachers have a go at driving; On a dual carriageway doing 50ish the teacher took hold of the steering wheel, the driver knocked it into neutral and left the driving seat for the teacher to climb into, he drove for a few miles before they swapped back, all done at I guess 50mph-ish without ever stopping. We all cheered!

I presume H&S would raise an eyebrow at such stuff these days.

Oh, that reminds me of driving to Cornwall with a few mates in years gone by, we swapped drivers in my Nova () on the A303.Mate in back behind driver holds wheel, drivers climbs into back behind passengers seat, passengers seat mate climbs into drivers seat. Awesome. Stupid yes, but awesome.