ahisma
04-22-2013, 05:28 PM
Update: He just came by and apologized for his poor driving and horrible response. DH and I think he told his wife what happened, LOL. Anyway, he's changing how he backs out of his driveway, apparently he goes just past the house and guns it, thinking he has a narrow window of opportunity. Um...no! If he can't see 2 boys and 2 adults on scooters he has no business gunning it. He's also removing some bushes to increase his visibility. I'm still ticked, but also impressed that he came by and ate crow. Seems like a decent guy overall, who just reacted exceptionally poorly in this situation. Either way, my goal was to convince him to be mare careful backing out so I'm satisfied. I'm still not letting the boys go past his driveway without and adult or DD (teenager) with them.
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We live on a residential street in an neighborhood full of old homes, close together. It is a family block with kids constantly playing in (small) yards and on the sidewalks.
DS1 (6yo), DS2 (4yo), DH and I were headed out on a scooter ride this afternoon. The boys were probably 3-4 feet ahead of us. They are well versed in scooter safety, very respectful of cars, driveways, etc. We were going at a decent speed, but nothing that felt unsafe. In fact, an older (very safety conscious) woman had just stopped us to complement the boys on their scooter safety and to note that she always sees them being conscious of vehicles, etc. They always ride on the sidewalk, NEVER in the road, etc.
Moments later, DS2 was almost hit. A car came down a blind driveway very fast. DH and I both saw it fully and yelled to get DS2 to stop (he already was) and to alert the driver. DS2 threw his scooter aside and wiped out to stop, ending with half of his torso under the car. As soon as DH pulled him out the guy drove away!
When we came home, the driver was just arriving home. I walked up his driveway to talk to him. From his reaction (driving off without saying a word) I assumed that maybe he didn't see how close of a call it was. DS2 is tiny and truly could have died had he not leaped off the scooter. To make a long story short, the guy didn't give a damn. I wound up getting pretty ticked, he has two toddlers and I was appalled at his lack of caring. He didn't even apologize, just said that kids don't belong on sidewalks. DH (stereotypical softspoken English teacher) came up and tried to help, he couldn't get anywhere either. We were both shocked.
IMO - yes, it is our job as parents to teach children to be watchful of driveways, etc. It is our children's job to follow those rules. BUT, drivers carry the bulk of the burden of watching for playing children, at the very minimum not speeding down a blind driveway.
I feel like I should address this further. I'm still LIVID though, and shaky. I'm pretty laid back about kid accidents, but seeing this I truly feel like DS was mere seconds away from getting crushed. WWYD?
____________
We live on a residential street in an neighborhood full of old homes, close together. It is a family block with kids constantly playing in (small) yards and on the sidewalks.
DS1 (6yo), DS2 (4yo), DH and I were headed out on a scooter ride this afternoon. The boys were probably 3-4 feet ahead of us. They are well versed in scooter safety, very respectful of cars, driveways, etc. We were going at a decent speed, but nothing that felt unsafe. In fact, an older (very safety conscious) woman had just stopped us to complement the boys on their scooter safety and to note that she always sees them being conscious of vehicles, etc. They always ride on the sidewalk, NEVER in the road, etc.
Moments later, DS2 was almost hit. A car came down a blind driveway very fast. DH and I both saw it fully and yelled to get DS2 to stop (he already was) and to alert the driver. DS2 threw his scooter aside and wiped out to stop, ending with half of his torso under the car. As soon as DH pulled him out the guy drove away!
When we came home, the driver was just arriving home. I walked up his driveway to talk to him. From his reaction (driving off without saying a word) I assumed that maybe he didn't see how close of a call it was. DS2 is tiny and truly could have died had he not leaped off the scooter. To make a long story short, the guy didn't give a damn. I wound up getting pretty ticked, he has two toddlers and I was appalled at his lack of caring. He didn't even apologize, just said that kids don't belong on sidewalks. DH (stereotypical softspoken English teacher) came up and tried to help, he couldn't get anywhere either. We were both shocked.
IMO - yes, it is our job as parents to teach children to be watchful of driveways, etc. It is our children's job to follow those rules. BUT, drivers carry the bulk of the burden of watching for playing children, at the very minimum not speeding down a blind driveway.
I feel like I should address this further. I'm still LIVID though, and shaky. I'm pretty laid back about kid accidents, but seeing this I truly feel like DS was mere seconds away from getting crushed. WWYD?