On our way home from the sticks today, I glanced out the window of the car and saw this adorable little girl, about 2 years old in the car next to me. She had the biggest brown eyes and was smiling back at me.
I then realized to my horror that she was sitting in the front seat of the truck her bleeping father was driving! Window rolled all the way down to boot! She was facing forward, in a car seat mind, you but is it ok for her to be in the front seat? Shouldn't she be in the back?
Eric was quickly on the phone to get the non-emergency number for the police in Coquitlam. Or was it Port Moody? Crap! We didn't know where the hell we were so we called 911 and tried to get the blasted number of the right blasted district. All in all, Eric made 3 phone calls whilst I was following this jackass so we could get his plate number. He finally pulled into a fast food drive-thru so I pulled into the parking lot.
I couldn't help myself, I had to say something. I got out of the car and waited for the guy to finish ordering, and then said to him, " You know, it would be a really good idea to put your daughter into the back seat. She's far too young to be in the front seat facing forward." To which he replied, "The airbag is turned off, and anyway I've taken an ICBC course on child safety. When she is in the backseat, she faces forward too. Mind your own business!"
Not wanting to cause a scene and risk an aggressive backlash by this idiot, I got back into the car. Eric is still trying to get the police on the phone. Thankfully, the guy was oblivious to us.
We left the parking lot and parked around the corner and when he left I decided to tail him. We followed him all the way to his house and finally got the police on the phone. All the while I'm feeling like I'm on a stakeout. It was surprisingly exciting! We were parked a few houses down while Eric filled the police in on the details. I was busy checking out the situation in the rearview mirror, car running in case we had to make a quick getaway. The police took his address and said they were going to go by and check it out. They also asked if we had called this in before. Hmmm, does that mean someone else had called this in?
When we got home, I googled child carseat laws in BC. I was shocked to find out that it is not illegal to have such a young child in the front seat facing forward, its just not recommended. Argh! I thought I was on a righteous mission, turns out, what I thought was law is not at all. But, it's still not the safest place for that sweet little girl to be, so why not go above and beyond to make sure your child is safe?
The police obviously thought it was worth the trip out there. I was desperate to go back and wait for them, to find out what happened, to be a fly on the wall to that conversation.
Maybe in Coquitlam the rules are different! Maybe 'the sticks' is a great place to live after all! Lol.
Or just maybe, this mission points me in the direction I've been looking for. Maybe I've found my calling. I have always known that I had a burning need for detective's work brewing inside me. But that is for another day, another post. Anyway...
That guy was a dummy. And ignorant. Poor kid.
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