WWYD car pool situation

Let's just say your kids go to a school 25 minutes away, twice a week for orchestra. The drive consists of a long stretch of highway through the middle of nearly nothing. Several fatal accidents have occurred on this stretch of road, though it has been updated with rumble strips in an attempt to wake drowsy drivers before crossing into lane going the opposite direction. Your children have been riding with a neighbor to get there, then you go pick them up. The temperatures outside have been in the teens. Orchestra lasts 45 minutes. You have a baby and 3 more children. The neighbor driving your children has been working out great. They have a ride there, then you drive out to pick up, and then are home again. Unfortunately, for whatever reason (you don't know) the usual vehicle with 3 lap-shoulder belts in the back has been replaced by one with two lap-shoulder belts and a lap-only belt. Two teen boys ride only a short way in the vehicle before being dropped off. (Before hitting the highway.) Your two children riding in the vehicle are 9 and 11 years old and are riding in harmony literider boosters. Your 11 year old rode in a lap-only belt before telling you about it.

What do you do?

I explain to the neighbor that booster seats can't be used with lap belts so while I have appreciated the rides thus far, I have arranged new transportation for my children and they won't be needing a ride any longer. If she offers to have one of the teen boys take the lap belt and have my kids use the lap/shoulder belt, I then politely decline saying, thank you, but I have already arranged transportation (since I am not comfortable with a lap belted teenager's body flying around in an accident).

Then I get my DH to watch the other kids while I take the kids to orchestra. If DH/spouse was working or I didn't have a DH/spouse, then I'd haul all the kids out (pain in the butt!) and arrange something to do for the 45 minutes while the kids were in orchestra. Maybe there's an ice cream shop or a bakery or a library, something that the kids would enjoy to make it easier to get them into the vehicle twice a week.

If I was truly worried about the dangers of the road, I wouldn't have my kids travelling on it with anyone (neighbour or myself) unless it was an emergency or a rare circumstance. So, in that case, I'd look for another location for them for orchestra. If that wasn't available, then unfortunately I'd have to pull them from it. It seem though that this isn't the case for you since you already have them travelling on that road with the neighbor a couple times per week.

Orchestra is from 8-8:45 am in a very small town with very, very few businesses, let alone anything child friendly. The only viable option involve me driving (all of the) kids would be to drive around from 8-8:45 (Including the drive time beginning at 7:40 and ending at 9-9:15) so as to keep the heat on and keep little people from screaming.

christineka said:

Orchestra is from 8-8:45 am in a very small town with very, very few businesses, let alone anything child friendly.

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So, I guess this means that the option to have my DH or spouse watch the kids while I ran the others to orchestra is out?

Then my options would be to either play outside with the kids if weather permitted or bring enough to occupy them to play in the vehicle. My vehicle would suck for that since it's not a van and where I live it's brutally cold, so I'd also have to leave the vehicle running the entire time. So, for me, I'd be looking for another place for orchestra and if that wasn't available, sadly no orchestra for the kids. Since that totally sucks as an option, I'd see about having someone other than my DH/spouse watch the non-orchestra kids while I took the others to orchestra. But if I had a spouse, I'd first see if his/her schedule could be rearranged to watch the kids.

One other option is to find someone else from orchestra to take them, but I'm guessing that isn't an option else you would have mentioned it as a possibility.

could this be a rental while their other car is in the shop?

I'd at least find out if this is a permanent change first.

if it is permanent, then a change in transportation is going to have to happen.

Kat_Momof3 said:

could this be a rental while their other car is in the shop?

I'd at least find out if this is a permanent change first.

if it is permanent, then a change in transportation is going to have to happen.

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Good point. I was going under the assumption this was the new, permanent vehicle which of course it may not be.