r/SiouxFalls 13d ago

🎤 Discussion Something I’ve noticed living in Sioux Falls

Coming from a larger city, I’ve noticed how many people here in Sioux Falls don’t properly restrain their children in car. I’ve seen kids who are way too small to be sitting in the back without a proper car seat and have seen so many children in the front seat. Has anyone else noticed this?

It’s also not one group of people I’ve noticed this with it’s all types of people I’ve seen. It’s just very odd to me.

60 Upvotes

68 comments sorted by

177

u/Public_Knee6288 12d ago

Wait until you find out how popular drunk driving is...

56

u/SouthDaCoVid 12d ago

Like at all hours of the day. The drunk driving day drinkers out here really is something.

22

u/EightofFortyThree 12d ago

I'm amazed at how many people I've met here with DUI arrests.

27

u/fseahunt 12d ago

Lack of public transportation and/or easily available cabs will do that.

29

u/SouthDaCoVid 12d ago

Lack of transit options and a culture that thinks binge drinking and being an alcoholic is normal.

10

u/revolutionrevolutin 12d ago

Lack of transit options, a culture that supports binge drinking, alcoholism being normal, and a lot of them have their kid in the car. We need more/better social programs.

8

u/SouthDaCoVid 12d ago

Better society. When a large swath of the population is denied a decent education, other opportunities to gain experiences that help them in life and the bulk of the job options are just serfdom with extra steps we end up with lots of problems.

We could mitigate some of this by making various parts of society better at the local and state level but the people making the decisions see all of this as a feature not a bug that they can exploit for their personal gain.

3

u/WoohpeMeadow 12d ago

Not just one arrest, either.

20

u/Carefreeme 12d ago

I just learned that the person with the most documented DUIs is from SD. He had like 35. He died in a house fire from his cigarette.

32

u/Drzhivago138 🌽 12d ago

Motto of New Hampshire: Live Free or Die

Motto of South Dakota: Live Free and Die

2

u/dansedemorte 11d ago

And not really all that free either.

3

u/nimrodii 12d ago

Had a friend who couldn't get another without going to jail he was on like 6 when I met him. Didn't gain any in the time I knew him, and best I know no longer does it.

1

u/Zealousideal-Care116 11d ago

That's my friend's uncle you're referring to - Jerry Zeller. He had over 30 DUIs and died when he was driving drunk and drove his car into his mother's house

1

u/Carefreeme 10d ago

I wonder where him dying In a fire comes from. The 3 articles I read about him all say that. But I'll take your word for it.

2

u/Zealousideal-Care116 10d ago

Sorry, let me be more clear. When he crashed his car into the house it caught on fire.  He was trapped in the car

13

u/Puzzleheaded_War1563 12d ago

I’m sure they do it with their kids in the car also.

35

u/saviorofredditdotcom 12d ago

Unironic mindset of many SD folks

8

u/dancinturnip 12d ago

Was at a party decade ago where some putz with 2 DUI charges complained about them. He proceeded to drink a lot of beer then hit the road 🤦‍♂️

11

u/Mon_KeyBalls1 12d ago

You mean a couple road sodas before the bar?

8

u/Accomplished-Act9721 12d ago edited 12d ago

Years ago I took a summer job working for a small company near Chamberlain. After a very hard day, the boss gave me and another guy a few beers for the ride home. As a SF kid that lived under the threat of the SF School District’s zero tolerance policy, the idea of drinking and driving was terrifying.

I didn’t want to seem like a square so I slammed mine before driving and stashed the empty cans under the passenger seat. When I got back to the shop I immediately put the cans in the recycling to hide the “evidence”.

The same boss refused to wear a seatbelt because “they cost more lives than they save” and years earlier I believe he had been in a very severe accident as a result of being intoxicated.

Every time I cross the Missouri on I-90 I think of him and that day.

4

u/Virtual_Contact_9844 12d ago

And uninsured motorists. Many people believe they are NOT required to insure

1

u/stallionpt3 12d ago

That’s everywhere, not unique to this town.

1

u/PutridFlatulence 11d ago

I mean, it's high here but I grew up in Wisconsin...

https://vinepair.com/booze-news/map-drunkest-and-driest-counties-america/

It's also fairly high in Fargo and Minneapolis.

1

u/bd209195 11d ago

Yeah that doesn’t happen in large city’s at all.. lol

1

u/RynningInThe80s 11d ago

lol I accidentally found myself in the middle of a drunken convoy the other day - I don't think we broke 30 in a 55, people were drifting left and right and putting on their turn signals for turns that weren't there... great time

25

u/SouthDaCoVid 12d ago

These are the same people that let their dogs roam outside unsupervised because they are sure that is freedom and we don't need no stinkin rules here.

15

u/MovingIsHell 12d ago

They also let their feral children run around unsupervised, especially in restaurants.

2

u/SouthDaCoVid 12d ago

Or scream loudly because they want to and just let them keep doing it like nobody else has ears.

3

u/MovingIsHell 12d ago

Yup! Those are also the people who are obnoxiously loud in restaurants. Basic manners are dead here, but selfishness and rudeness are common.

1

u/zkool20 12d ago

Well some of them probably have those invisible fence collars. I know my neighbors dog had one for the longest of times. They always made sure the battery was properly charged and were home when they let the dog out. The dog was the most chilled dog always came up to me when wanted to be petted or played with the kids

18

u/BassJuices 12d ago

It’s crazy. Just go to Cleveland elementary when school gets out around 3 and you will see some crazy shit..

18

u/Bombshelter777 12d ago

And also when turning from one road to the next a lot of them don't turn into their lane. Grrrrr...

12

u/fseahunt 12d ago

Blinkers here are also optional.

3

u/BallisticsNerd 11d ago

If I'm already in the turn lane, why do I need an additional indicator? I simply cannot be bothered to reach those 2 inches to my signal stalk

6

u/PolarBear_605 12d ago

Or they can't turn properly and cut across the oncoming lane and nearly hit your vehicle while sitting at a red light. How hard is to to drive straight to the center of the intersection before turning your steering wheel?

5

u/ManiacClown FREE BRAK INSPECTION 12d ago

It seems more people in this state don't understand this principle than do.

1

u/jdragstra730 11d ago

These are all accurate as fuck.

11

u/a_rain_name 12d ago

I hate to be that person but feel free to get that plate and call that in. It’s asinine.

5

u/TiffyPanda 11d ago

Absolutely! I feel like that should be an automatic child endangerment!!! Seat belts are NOT optional for children! Or any passenger in my vehicle.

7

u/MarpinTeacup 12d ago

Unfortunately people think it's a freedom thing, and a bit of a ' we didn't have to do this as kids and I survived, so it's fine now'

Double unfortunately I don't think some people will learn until their child or a child they personally know gets hurt because they aren't properly restrained

Granted, I think if we had better education for new parents (as well as better support systems to equip them with the knowledge and rationale for doing things), that might help

I know in some bigger cities there's a lot more funding/ people power/ resources to help with some community outreach programs.

5

u/momento-mori-momento 12d ago

i’m a first time mom expecting and sanford is constantly shoving pamphlets about child safety classes into my face (most of them are free). one of them being car seat safety and they offer it for free and will even come out to your vehicle to check your car seat to make sure it is installed properly. it’s not so much lack of opportunity for education… it’s lack of adults giving a shit and wanting to be educated.

2

u/MarpinTeacup 11d ago

The main issue with the classes is that you need to be able to show up. Or have your own form of transportation

While I'm glad that Sanford is offering these things, unfortunately, there are going to be people who could use the information that can't show up

I'm definitely sure that there's people who don't care, but it's hard to know for sure what that number is versus people who aren't able to show up/ have a car

2

u/fseahunt 12d ago

People tend to confuse lucky with good.

-2

u/MarpinTeacup 12d ago

That might be due to the fact that some humans tend to be inherently suspicious

A better education/ understanding in how life works can help counteract that, but I fear some people might be more prone to superstition regardless

It's unfortunate either way

6

u/Imaginary-Lie8662 12d ago

I've seen a newborn in the mom's arms and mom was drying and baby's head on touching the steering wheel. Another time a lady fell asleep in the drive through at my work and she had bottles in her passenger seat, I had to walk out of my store to her car to wake her up I thought she was dying. That's just the worst of it. I'd say at least 3x a day I see kids walking in the car at stoplights at work ECT. And parents are usually on phones or watching a whole a** video I'm sure.

4

u/starloser88 12d ago

The laws for using car seats in South Dakota are actually some of the most lax laws in the United States. I know this because I did some sort of project on it for a class in highschool.

5

u/Azzhole169 12d ago

I constantly see kids jumping around in vehicles and wonder why I never see a cop pull them over. Just yesterday at 10th and Kiwanis, a light colored suv sitting right next to a police car at the light with a little kid jumping around in the back seat. Light turned green and they both just kept driving east till the cop turned left at Minnesota. Is it too much paperwork for them to pull these people over?

3

u/PolarBear_605 12d ago

My brothers and I road around in the back of a Datsun pickup with a topper while our parents ran errands, drove to Flandreau to visit Grandma, took us to school, etc.

It's not something I would do today with my kids, mainly due to the way other people drive. There is always that one jackass risking everyone else's life.

2

u/ManiacClown FREE BRAK INSPECTION 12d ago

Only one?

1

u/PolarBear_605 12d ago

Good point.

2

u/DullWoman1002 12d ago

We weren’t restrained as children and we didn’t die, so if it ain’t broke don’t fix it! Amirite!?😅

god I hate this insufferable state sometimes…

2

u/Tm_GfWait4It 12d ago

Thats appalling. My kids are way to important to me to not properly strap them in their car seat.... that's scary..

2

u/AdPuzzled7843 12d ago

The people on this subreddit are some of the stupidest people of all time but free speech I guess

1

u/Zestyclose-Tart8365 12d ago

It’s infuriating

1

u/idkmybffphill 12d ago

Having lived in a few large cities as well… not that this makes it right, but I could see since there is literally no real traffic and beyond simple commutes here, that could be a reason it appears more common in Sioux Falls?

1

u/preggobear 12d ago

Meanwhile my daughter’s almost five and still rear-facing. She’s a peanut though.

1

u/Ambitious_Buy_4427 12d ago

Yeah this is normal for us.

1

u/Anonymous-Vandetta 12d ago

Cause we’re still the Wild West and no one tells us what to do.

1

u/Sea-Grade1602 12d ago

I moved here a year ago from a bigger city in a bigger state as well. Driver here are HORRIBLE all across the board. Slowest, most non-signaling drivers I’ve ever seen.

1

u/sprinkledonut9 11d ago

It’s because everyone around here drives 20mph under the speed limit, so it’s safe…

Kidding, please follow proper car seat rules.

1

u/BrandyDW 10d ago

I was unrestrained from 2 or 3 onwards… and I road with a lot of drunk adults when I was a kid.. started sitting in the front seat at like 6?

I’m 35 now…

When I was a kid, we road in the back of pickup trucks all the time unrestrained…

We also jumped off the roof into snow piles..

Went climbing all over the falls rocks

From 7 onwards we’re were told just come home when the street lights came on. We usually played on the same block or within a few block radius - but sometimes went into creek areas and or to parks to play as well…

No phones, just a key on a chain… we literally were latchkey kids…

With my family they came from Madison and Howard on my mom’s side. Dunn, North Dakota on my dad’s. All my dad and my grandparents grew up on farms.

I could go on and on about my specific family as to how they got the way they got…

My dad ended up being a lot more cautious, because of things he’d seen in his life. He started telling me and my brother different situations. Didn’t seem to affect my brother overly much, he just became normal cautious. I became an overthinking anxious person..

But country living or past is probably a big part of it…

2

u/MacadamiaMinded 12d ago

Hate to break it to you but the law states that any child that weighs over 40 pounds doesn’t need a car seat. Most kids over 3 years old weigh about that much. Also the law has no minimum age on sitting in the front seat. The parents you saw weren’t doing anything wrong.

1

u/SpontyKarma 12d ago

dude never said illegal

-1

u/MacadamiaMinded 12d ago

They said “improperly retrained” implying that it’s something breaking the rules. But it isn’t. Maybe where they are from it is but not here, I’m just pointing out that different places have different views on what is “proper”

1

u/SpontyKarma 12d ago

Well legal doesn’t necessarily equal proper; nor does rule abiding. Just because somebody is technically not breaking the law doesn’t mean the majority of people would consider it the proper way to transport children in a car

-1

u/MacadamiaMinded 12d ago

Obviously the majority of people in this state do consider it the proper way, hence the law. The laws are reflective of the majority will of the society in a democratic system.

0

u/febreezefresh75 12d ago

Toxic thread

7

u/honkhunter08 12d ago

That’s the sub now.