A good idea or a case of mind your own business?

A new Illinois state-sponsored program called “Be a Buckle Buddy” — seriously? — provides a hotline for folks to call if they spot a fellow motorist that doesn’t have their kids properly restrained in the vehicle. The owner of the car is then tracked down and sent a warning and pamphlets on child safety:

“The intent is not to be punitive in any manner,” said Chris Franciskovich, regional communications manager for Children’s Hospital of Illinois. The Peoria-based hospital, the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department and Peoria-Area Safe Kids Coalition started the program in 2004.

Franciskovich pulls messages off the hotline once a week and faxes information — ideally, the license plate, kind of vehicle, location of incident, date and time — to the appropriate departments. If a caller gives just a plate number, he gives it to Tazewell, which covers for the entire state.

The police do not tell Franciskovich’s hospital where any offenders live and since the call is routed through the hospital’s switchboard, Franciskovich does not even see the area code from which the reporting person is calling.

The packet contains a brochure about car seat safety; another brochure, about car seat safety for children with special needs; and an IDOT brochure about Illinois’ Child Passenger Protection Act.

Of course I completely understand the importance of safely buckling kids into the car, but doesn’t this seem a bit creepy? To get some envelope in the mail out of nowhere that essentially says, “We’re watching you!” seems a bit much to me, and I’m torn on the subject. What do you think? Is this level of busybody-ness warranted?

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