Something you notice right away when moving here is that seat belt laws don't apply here. There are no regulations on baby/child seats or anything like that. You notice because you see cars drive by where mothers hold their babies in the seats or children are simply standing on the floor behind the front seats, watching out the windows. It's a weird sight to behold. You also see cars go by stuffed with families or groups of people. A Suburban for 6-8 persons is holding 10 people.
At first it really bothered me. It still does, mind you, but not as much as before. Like my mother-in-law pointed out, it's like it used to be in the states when she was a kid. The problem just lies in that there are a lot more cars on the road now and people drive faster. Also, I remind myself that they have different views on life here that contribute to them not using seatbelts.
First, the biggest factor is In-shallah. In shallah means "God Willing" and it is used often. It's part of every conversation you have with a Muslim. And they believe it. What God wills is how it will be. End of story. If it is your time to die, that is God's will and there is nothing you can do about it. If you are to be in a wreck, In Shallah. If you are be injured, In Shallah.
Second, they tend to view seat belts as dangerous. A few years ago in another Muslim country, Bahrain, I believe, the son of a high up official was in a wreck and died due to be belted in to the car and unable to escape. Although this is a very rare occurrence, the instance made a large impact on how seat belts were viewed around the area. I do recognize that this goes against In Shallah in a way since one would argue that God willed him to die in the wreck, but nonetheless, they view seatbelts that way.
Luckily, there is a movement here among some women to reverse this view, especially when it comes to children. And it is very easy to get a good car seat here. They are widely available in large stores. So that is good.
I have to admit that it's rubbed off on me a little bit. I'm not as good about belting Aberly for short trips, as in, the 1/2 mile drive to the school or if we are going to a friend's house in our neighborhood. If we are taking that short trip, I will let her sit on the seat without being belted. She thinks it's so fun because we cross the wadi (dried up river bed) which is bumpy and full of rocks. The total trip is about 5 blocks and you don't encounter other cars. If I was seen in the US you know I'd have the police all over me with endangerment charges or something like that! LOL Sad how true that is in the "over protective" mindframe of the US.
Anyways, the point of this post is to showcase another way life is very different here in Oman and how it's changed my mindset a tiny bit. I will always cringe when a car goes by me with a baby in a lap and a kid standing in the back, but I take a breath and say a quick prayer for them to stay safe. And I'll let Aberly have those small joys of not being strapped into her car seat every once in awhile :-)
At first it really bothered me. It still does, mind you, but not as much as before. Like my mother-in-law pointed out, it's like it used to be in the states when she was a kid. The problem just lies in that there are a lot more cars on the road now and people drive faster. Also, I remind myself that they have different views on life here that contribute to them not using seatbelts.
First, the biggest factor is In-shallah. In shallah means "God Willing" and it is used often. It's part of every conversation you have with a Muslim. And they believe it. What God wills is how it will be. End of story. If it is your time to die, that is God's will and there is nothing you can do about it. If you are to be in a wreck, In Shallah. If you are be injured, In Shallah.
Second, they tend to view seat belts as dangerous. A few years ago in another Muslim country, Bahrain, I believe, the son of a high up official was in a wreck and died due to be belted in to the car and unable to escape. Although this is a very rare occurrence, the instance made a large impact on how seat belts were viewed around the area. I do recognize that this goes against In Shallah in a way since one would argue that God willed him to die in the wreck, but nonetheless, they view seatbelts that way.
Luckily, there is a movement here among some women to reverse this view, especially when it comes to children. And it is very easy to get a good car seat here. They are widely available in large stores. So that is good.
I have to admit that it's rubbed off on me a little bit. I'm not as good about belting Aberly for short trips, as in, the 1/2 mile drive to the school or if we are going to a friend's house in our neighborhood. If we are taking that short trip, I will let her sit on the seat without being belted. She thinks it's so fun because we cross the wadi (dried up river bed) which is bumpy and full of rocks. The total trip is about 5 blocks and you don't encounter other cars. If I was seen in the US you know I'd have the police all over me with endangerment charges or something like that! LOL Sad how true that is in the "over protective" mindframe of the US.
Anyways, the point of this post is to showcase another way life is very different here in Oman and how it's changed my mindset a tiny bit. I will always cringe when a car goes by me with a baby in a lap and a kid standing in the back, but I take a breath and say a quick prayer for them to stay safe. And I'll let Aberly have those small joys of not being strapped into her car seat every once in awhile :-)
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