'Indian Parents Need A Harsh Reality Check': Man Slammed For Driving With Kid On Lap

An otherwise wholesome clip of a young kid sitting on the lap of her father, while he drives the car has been criticised by a doctor for endangering the kid’s safety. The doctor argued that placing kids on the driver’s lap can result in serious injuries in case the car experiences a collision. The position of the kid especially makes them vulnerable to crash-related injuries as they were not strapped to the seat belt. Making this point with heavy use of jargon, he wrote, “Looks adorable. But in the event of a frontal collision and subsequent airbag deployment, the infant’s skull would be accelerated at ~320km/hr 6-8 inches into the man’s thoracic cage, killing both instantly. Indian parents need a harsh reality check.”

In the following post, he wrote that the man in the video must be loving towards his daughter but like many parents, he is unaware of certain dangers. The doctor hoped the post would make more parents aware. The doctor’s call-out went viral with over 4 lakh views in just a day.

An X user suggested, “I think they should show videos of airbag deployment and other scenarios mandatorily before issuing a driver’s license.”

Someone else shared a relevant anecdote and commented, “A sudden brake can cause serious damage. Once in my teens, my cousin’s toddler was sitting on my lap in the front seat. The car jumped into a large pothole & I heard a loud bang, which I thought was from the bottom of the car. It was the sound of my niece’s head banging on the dash.”

Many people also shared that the man looked distracted while driving. Sharing this observation, an X user remarked, “That guy is not even looking at the road properly.”

An X user criticised the father in the video for endangering his daughter for the sake of making a reel and wrote, “I don’t know why we do such theatrics. It’s because life is so unpredictable, especially on lawless roads in India- why do this ‘Bhagawan Bharosa’ stuff when you’re actually tempting Yamaraja?”

In several countries like Canada, Japan and Sweden special booster seats or baby seats are mandatory for kids. These special seats hold kids securely as kids are too small to use regular seat belts. In India, it is not mandatory to install safety seats for kids.