Nice response, giggle. Many happy and friendly wishes to you, too.
Let me explain some of my thinking.
I was raised in a city. Bustling, busy streets, traffic that never obeys the speed limits, and people that were too concerned with getting where they needed to be on time to worry about anyone who might get in their way. As a result, I needed to learn very quickly how to NOT die while walking to school, playing outside, or just heading to the store to get milk for my mother. Therefore, when my mother told me not run into the street without looking both ways first, and I didn't listen, I found out the hard way why I should have paid attention. I disregarded what my mother told me, and did exactly what she told me not to do, and I was hit by a car. Any injury I would have incurred would have been something I deserved, and I defy any of you to dispute my logic.
As a result of this experience, my perspective on this particular topic is thus: the child in question is obviously old enough to know the difference between right and wrong (after all, the supposed age of reason is seven years old, and this make sense to me), and unless they were fleeing something that was directly threatening their life, limbs, or eyesight, or were rushing to the aid of someone else who was threatened as such, they should have known that running into the middle of a vehicular road could have threatened their well being.
If the child is mentally retarded, or if the driver was drunk and swerving off the road, I could make an exception. but as the story was described in this thread, it sounds like the kid just had a lapse of common sense and needed to get banged up a little bit to make sure they remember next time.
As I said before, I would have expected no less if I were in a similar situation. Furthermore, if and when I do have children, and they get struck by a car at the age of twelve, I will lovingly nurse them back to health, all the while saying, "That's what you get for not listening to me, kiddo."
My mother raised me by laying down rules and regulations, and when I stepped outside of those bounds, I found out the hard way why they were in place, either by her hand or by a direct result of my actions. As far as I am concerned, that's how the next generation of my family will learn as well.
On the other hand, if the kid's parents did NOT teach them that running into a busy street might be a bad idea, they shouldn't have procreated in the first place.
Darwin, behold.
