This picture of kids, sitting in the trunk of a hatchback car, was taken today when police stopped the car in Beitar Ilit. The driver had his five children in the car, and 3 of them were in the trunk.

Obviously this is illegal and dangerous - no seatbelts or any other security devices, and if a car would smash into the back of this car, the kids would be crushed.

The father's excuse, er - explanation - was that at the garage the mechanic had told him it would be ok. I would guess that it is more like he figured he was only driving locally, a few minutes from home, and nothign is going to happen. You can see people all the time with kids not buckled in, talking on the phone, or whatever other dangerous thing that can be done - because it is only a short ride, what's going to happen, etc.

The real reason I posted this is because the picture reminded me of when we were kids, and we'd sit in the back of the station wagon all the time. Some station wagons even had a small back seat, with such minimal leg room that it was only usable for kids, that was turned around - i.e. the kids sitting in it would be facing the back window, rather than facing forward.

Back then there was no law about seat belts in back seats, there was probably no law about not sitting in the "trunk" (though the trunk of the now extinct station wagon and a hatchback car are completely different), or many of the laws today that promote safety in the car.. I think most of us survived, despite sitting in the back... Not that the law is stupid or unnecessary, but the story/image did spark a bit of nostalgia...