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I lost a 7 year old brother on a side street . He had stepped in front of a on coming car from in front of a parked truck, there was no way the on coming driver could have seen him at the last second.
When I drive through a neighborhood especially if the potential exists that there are children playing there I find another way or slow way down.
Kids are unpredictable and they do not always realize the seriousness of their actions. I am sure you don't want to wear the guilt of hurting some one the rest of your life .
I left for work this morning at 4am, and I carefully drove 10-15 miles per hour in the residential street, and then 20 -25 on the nearby arterial. I felt great relief when I could finally hit the gas and drive normal on the main roads. Didn't see any kids playing in the street at 4am but decided it would be better safe than sorry.
I'm grumbling a lot, but clearly if I want to be respected in the neighborhood I will have to follow their rules. Bugs me, but I do want to get along.
We have gobs of 7 year olds. They'll be drivers in 8 - 10 years. I hope the parents are just as concerned about their kids driving as they are with mine when we have a bunch of teenage drivers around.
I would slow down, however I don't agree if they have obstacles IN the road creating traffic hazards. My friend lives in a neighborhood where there are cones and signs on a couple of front lawns near the road advising that there are kids at play and to please slow down, but nothing in the roadway. I'm sure that has to be illegal.
She didnt yell at you or catch an attitude, did she? She isnt just telling YOU, she is telling anyone who passes her house with those neon green signs that caution drivers kids are at play. They sell them for that very reason.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twoincomes
Today, one of the clicky moms stopped by my house and informed me that I was driving at an inappropriate speed. She quoted 90 miles per hour, which is factually not correct. I drive 25 mph. She said that her kid often bolts into the street without looking, and she wants everyone to drive slow enough to avoid her kid. She also sets up cones and sticks "slow children at play" signs in the middle of the street to slow people down.
Reread the bolded/underlined from the OP's original post.
Lots of people "speeding" right by the OP's post and just jumping out with their inane commentary.
I would slow down, however I don't agree if they have obstacles IN the road creating traffic hazards. My friend lives in a neighborhood where there are cones and signs on a couple of front lawns near the road advising that there are kids at play and to please slow down, but nothing in the roadway. I'm sure that has to be illegal.
If it's a public road, it is highly illegal. The height of stupidity.
I left for work this morning at 4am, and I carefully drove 10-15 miles per hour in the residential street, and then 20 -25 on the nearby arterial. I felt great relief when I could finally hit the gas and drive normal on the main roads. Didn't see any kids playing in the street at 4am but decided it would be better safe than sorry.
I'm grumbling a lot, but clearly if I want to be respected in the neighborhood I will have to follow their rules. Bugs me, but I do want to get along.
We have gobs of 7 year olds. They'll be drivers in 8 - 10 years. I hope the parents are just as concerned about their kids driving as they are with mine when we have a bunch of teenage drivers around.
Do you not have the critical thinking skills required to differentiate between 4am when no one is out on the road, and say, 4pm when kids are playing outside? This is why we have to have speed limits in the fitst place. People don't have common sense!
I here ya, op. I posted recently about neighborhood kids playing in my yard & hitting my house & car with their balls. Some people said let kids be kids, god forbid they play outside. Others posted that their parents should be supervising them & that it's obnoxious.
If you are traveling the speed limit, they have no right to tell you to slow down. Now, I do hit the brake & slow down when I see kids, just as a precaution, but I think it's obnoxious for the parents to expect you to do it, and simply justify it by saying "My kid is always jumping out in the street." I would have responded with "Perhaps you need to keep a better eye on your kid, then." Parents need to take responsibility for their children. If my kid were constantly jumping out into the street, he/she would not be allowed outside unsupervised!!
The other day I was in the ladies room here at work, and 2 women were at the sink chit-chatting. One of the women said, "I expect my kids to act differently in public than at home-at home they can be a little abnoxious at times, but I certainly wouldn't allow them to act like that with others or in public." I turned to her & said "THAT'S GREAT! I wish others did the same!"
So because she can't keep an eye on her children and keep them in the back yard, the whole world has to slow down?
Screw that. The speed limit is 25. You are free to drive 25.
If the community commandos want a slower speed limit, they can petition your town or county. In the meantime, they are not the police, and they need to just shut up and pay attention to their kids. In fact, I would talk to the police about those cones and sticks. She is creating a driving hazard.
Do you not have the critical thinking skills required to differentiate between 4am when no one is out on the road, and say, 4pm when kids are playing outside? This is why we have to have speed limits in the fitst place. People don't have common sense!
If someone is allowed to use their critical thinking skills in that regard, wouldn't it be much better to put them to use and drive the speed they feel is appropriate for the conditions at all times?
Personally, I think most speed limits are made up BS and I don't tend to obey them. Certainly not to the exact MPH or anything and usually as much as 9-10 MPH if it seems safe to do so, like on an interstate without heavy traffic or a relatively straight two lane 45 MPH road in the country.
However, in a residential neighborhood, I will sometimes drive lower than the limit if I do see kids playing nearby and of course I am always on the lookout for sudden movements as I just don't trust a kid running around or on a bike.
On the other hand, if I don't see kids actively and have judged in my mind as the driver that the situation is safe, I will drive the speed limit, maybe even creep up to 27 if that's the way things work out and if someone says something about it I will pay them absolutely no attention whatsoever.
Just as rain, snow, fog are conditions to be aware of and adjust your speed, seeing kids is no different.
And, unless it is a cul de sac, kids should not play in the street unattended, just like a dog shouldn't be allowed to run around free.
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if that's the way things work out and if someone says something about it I will pay them absolutely no attention whatsoever.
