Friday, November 13, 2009

I'm Afraid I'm Going to Kill Your Kid...

If not me, then surely someone else. While I'm referring to the kids of Sunland, California, I have no doubt this scene plays out in towns everywhere: pedestrian kids with no respect for motor vehicles.

I understand parents are busy. But shouldn't somebody teach your not-so-little ones about common physics? That the human body is no match for a 2000# SUV? And to respect themselves enough by doing the most basic thing: obeying basic traffic rules.

It's true, teenagers do really stupid things but if you don't think your teen / tween could be this stupid, I challenge you to park at the corner of Woodward and Foothill just after school lets out. This intersection is so well-known for it's short traffic light on the Woodward side, it made the national news.

I promise you will see kids crossing against the light, in front of oncoming traffic, without so much as a glance in the direction of the car that could have plowed them down.

It's bad enough they do this at a crosswalk but there are others up in the neighborhoods that step out into the street mid-block with no regard for my large SUV doing the speed limit less than 20 feet away. They laugh at the fear on my face as I slam on my brakes.

But the absolute most reckless ones around here are the skateboard boys over on Oro Vista. They are perpetually riding downhill from the church to Hillrose. Heaven help you if you are driving South at dusk. These daredevils weave into your lane and they are doing it so fast, they over-ride the headlights...you can barely see them! I'm not sure if they are playing chicken with my car or if they are just trying to scare me. But it's too close for comfort...one slip, one fall and these boys could be dead!

They may not care about their own lives, but I do. I tried to follow some of these boys home - determined to let ONE of their mother's know about their dangerous game, but the skateboards were no match for my SUV. And once I found the right neighborhood, there were no parents in sight...only more kids.

I really fear it's going to take a tragedy before parents around here wake up and realize that their kids have so little regard for their own lives. And you can bet, they will place the blame on the driver and not their precious, innocent offspring.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, that's a tragedy waiting to happen. And even when the driver is found to be NOT at fault, I bet the "court of popular opinion" will find the driver guilty. I guess the kids think that the drivers HAVE to stop for them, no matter where they are.

One can only hope that when (and if) these kids grow up, karma will come back to bite them on the butt, and they'll understand what assholes they were when they were kids.

CreekHiker / HollysFolly said...

Janet, these dipsticks will think they were so cool! Assholes! Probably raised by assholes!