MGB young son riding in MGB

[Mack]

I need help! I am in the process of getting divorced,my soon to be ex wife has made a stipulation that my 3yo son is not to ride in my '76MGB because at his tender age and because of how low the car sits to the ground he is in danger of being killed in an accident. Now mind you, before the divorce proceedings there was no problem with him riding with me, now all of a sudden the car is a death trap. Can anyone give me counter arguments of anykind? The true reason is she knows how much fun we have together in the car, I plan to keep the car for him and give it to him on his 16th birthday and she cant stand it. Please help, I have no reason to keep the car if I can't enjoy it with my son Vincent. Thanks in advance. John

 

[Steve_S]

I'm sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation. There are no crash safety data sheets available for these cars, so all that can be argued on either side is real world performance. As far as old cars go, the MGB is quite safe. Any small car whether new or old will not stand up well to a 7,000 pound raised SUV. A modern sports car will have additional safety features not found on the MGB, but that in itself does not mean the MGB is unsafe.

The engineers who designed the MGB put safety high on the list of priorities. After all, their company motto was "safety Fast" meaning a car which could be driven at high performance levels safely. Many will argue that a small car is safer because you are in far more control than in a larger car, and therefore are much less likely to have an accident to begin with.

For photographic proof of how well these cars stand up to collision damage, see this page:

https://www.mgnuts.com/mg/destruction/

Pay special attention to how well the cockpit is protected in many different types of collisions. Also note the factory crash test photo, showing that these cars were in fact designed with crash safety in mind.

I wish you the best of luck with your current situation.

 

[tony barnhill]

Thing to do is get your lawyer to have her set an age when he can 'safely' ride with you...then her argument becomes moot as the car doesn't become 'safer' as a person ages, its the same regardless of whether he's in a properly fitted child car seat or on the car's seat in a belt!

 

[jlaird]

Obviously she is crazy as a betsy bug. This is not safety she is concerned with this is vindacation of some sort.


I agree with Tony.

 

[vping]

How will she know? Is she going to follow you around. If so she's nuts.

 

[Rick_Stevens]

Kids talk. 'Sides, the last thing ya wanna do is teach him it's okay to keep secrets from mommy. Next thing you know he's a teenager, then whoa, Nelly!

R.

 

[Jack_Long]

You are also very interested in the safety of your son, right?

So, have your lawyer insert a stipulation for her that your son is not to ride in any car operated by any of her current or future male companions without submittal of a notarized copy of their driving record to you for your express prior approval.

Also, that he is not permitted to ride in or on any open cars or motorcycles at any time while under her care for the same reasons that she stipulated.

 

[jjh]

buy a gt

 

[tony barnhill]

Yep, fire with fire!

Take it a bit farther - she's not to bring any male friends into the house while your son is present!

 

[Shinsen774]

...or female "friends"....just to cover all the bases.

 

[jjbunn]

Sorry for your tough situation.

Can you get the car checked by the police and deemed officially safe and roadworthy? That would make the "stipulation" a legal nonsense wouldn't it?

 

[Deleted member 3577]

Found a law forum.

You can presumably ask questions & receive replies like BCF.

https://community.lawyers.com/messageboards/board.asp?channelId=17&mbId=99

BTW....I seems like she is questioning your judgment....
The burden should be on her to provide examples of times when you have been negligent.

Also....I am not a lawyer.

 

[Scott_Hower]

You are also very interested in the safety of your son, right?

So, have your lawyer insert a stipulation for her that your son is not to ride in any car operated by any of her current or future male companions without submittal of a notarized copy of their driving record to you for your express prior approval.

Also, that he is not permitted to ride in or on any open cars or motorcycles at any time while under her care for the same reasons that she stipulated.

Brilliant. After all, it's all about his safety, right?

 

[jlaird]

Just say no. However, you will stipulate that you and she should maintain your vehicles in a safe, legal condition and observe all state and federal laws concerning operation.


In other words tell her to stuff it.

 

[R6MGS]

That sounds like a lotta BS to me....My wifes daily driver is an MGA, She drives the kids around everywhere without even seatbelts! Although I am going to be installing some in the spring.

Back to the legal thing, wheres lawguy? I think WhatsThatNoise has the right idea by making her try and prove your negligence.

 

[Steve]

The guys make good arguments.

I had a '79 MGB, it was totalled in an argument with a modern Chevy Cavalier. While both cars were toast, my MG survived the trauma far better (in fact, had it been a modern car it would not have been totalled, being a classic it would have required specialised knowledge to fix). I got out of the car totally unhurt, a testament to how over-built these little cars are.

 

[Mack]

I want to thank everyone for the suggestions, I truly appriciate it! Just a little more background, I am a career firefighter EMT-CC, have been for the past 16yrs, along with other training over the years I am certified in NY to install and inspect child car seats, I have had one speeding ticket since driving and that was at age 16, although I have to admit being a firefighter has helped to keep that stat to the above ticket only /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif One of the unwritten bennies. I have no accidents on my record, unlike my soon to be ex, the car is NY inspected every year and is a solid rust free B. Again it just bugs me, that she is trying to eliminate something my son and I truly enjoy together for no other reason than that, he has been tooling around with me since he was legally allowed to ride facing forward and she never said a word and now all of a sudden the car isn't safe. Maybe I should buy a SUV or jacked up pick up, no can't do that they might roll over
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif maybe a tandom bike, oh no might crash the bike maybe just a good pair of sneakers .......sorry to rant on. But I just wanted to say thanks, I will mention all these to my lawyer and I will be sure to keep everyone posted. John & Vincent

 

[terriphill]

How much of your life are you willing to allow her to dictate? Any good lawyer would look at her Demands (because that what they are) as unreasonable an vindictive. If she is allowed to tell you what you can drive when your son is with you, is she also going to come inside and inspect your refridgerator to approve of the foods you are feeding him? Is your bathtub safe? Have you adequately childproofed your home? Do you have all of your light sockets covered? Does she get to come through your home and inspect it prior to every visit? No. Does she get to approve of who visits your home while your son is there? No. Can she tell you what type of car to buy and drive? No. This is unreasonable. Your lawyer should say so and any reasonable judge will agree.

 

[69MGC]

Mack

Why make this divorce more contensious than it already is. You can do all of those suggested things but to what end. You just make a bad situation worse.

I would recommend that you be the bigger person in this and show her that no matter what she trys to do, you are going to rise above the pettiness that she is obviously capable of.

Maybe if you don't fight back on this and show her that you will still have a great relationship with your son regardless, and she can't hurt you anymore than you obviously are right now, she may give in and let you have your bit of joy with your son.

Nobody wins in a divorce. Don't make it worse.

 

[jlaird]

Not about winning it is about what's right.