Kids playing in road=Increased blood pressure: Help!!

In My Humble Opinion
1

Background information: The facility where I work sits at the top of a large hill. Due to it’s placement, there’s only one road accessible out of the neighborhood at the end of the day (our gates are locked in the afternoon). From the very bottom of the hill to about 3/4 of the way up (across a set of railroad tracks and through two stop signs) is Drug Alley. The police know it, everyone who works here knows it, and due to this and the incidents of crime (several coworkers have been assaulted when stopping at the stop signs, and there have been several murders/rapes in this neighborhood just since the beginning of the year) everyone who drives down the street does so at the speed limit (25), tends to not look too closely in either direction, and does a “California roll” through the stop signs.

Although the visibility is good when looking straight down the hill, there are a lot of cars around and one can’t always see what/who is on the sidewalk. When the weather gets warm, the drug dealers and their clients are joined outside by their children. There is a group of about 10-15 kids, ranging in age from 7-12, who like to play basketball in the street. The problem is, the kids are fearless when it comes to cars. They have no problem at all running out in the middle of the road, or standing in the middle of the road. One of my coworkers has had several run-ins (pardon the pun) with these kids, and now refuses to stop for them. I’m… not so callous, but I am past “annoyed” with the situation.

Last night I was coming out of work, going a little over the speed limit, when one kid, probably about 9 years old, ran out and stood in the path of my car, which was carrying about 400 pounds of horse feed in the back and going downhill. I hit the brakes and managed to stop about a foot away from him, and he just stood there. He finally moved, and as I drove by I saw him and his friends laughing. The adults standing down on the corner were not amused, and I got some fairly dirty looks as I drove by. Frustrated (and, admittedly, scared to death), I called the police (I started with the non-emergency number, but there was no answer, so I called 911) and told them I had almost hit a child, that I was at my wits’ end, and that they needed to send someone out to talk to the kids. I am apparently not the first person to do this, as the dispatcher knew exactly where I was talking about and didn’t hesitate to send someone.

I’m sure the locals weren’t pleased when Officer Andy showed up to “chat” with their kids, but there was no way in hell I was getting out of my car to find the kids’ parents. I’m a bit concerned about reprisal- there were quite a few people in the vicinity, and there was no missing the loud squealing stop I made- but I’m more concerned that this isn’t going to change a darn thing, and I have months and months of warm, sunny evenings to look forward to.

Does anyone have any more effective suggestions for how to handle this situation in the future? Putting a cow catcher on the car is not an option. :wink:

2

Whether or not the kids are being belligerent and foolhardy, if your co-worker hits one of them, he/she is going to be charged with vehicular homicide, especially if he/she saw the kid and refused to stop.

I wouldn’t be worried about reprisal against you in particular. You’re not the only one who has complained, after all, and it’s highly unlikely you’re the only one who had to come to a squealing stop.

I suggest you go to a city council meeting and adress this. Ask that a police officer be stationed there for a week or so, and afterwards, do frequent, random drive-bys-- the people will most likely move on if there seems to be a constant police presence. Ask about getting cameras installed (even fake ones might cut down on the problem.) If they cite budget issues, offer to have a fundraiser with your co-workers.

3

I’ve no advice to give, but…ahem…as a kid I was doing that. Well, not exactly, since I was running in front of the incoming car instead of standing on the road. I’m posting here only thanks to good brakes.
I’m fully convinced that kids have only one goal in life : finding a creative (or not so creative) way of offing themselves. It must be an evolutionnary trait develloped to weed out quickly the weakest, slowest, etc… (“I bet I can outrun the sabre-toothed tiger”)

4

The police drive by fairly frequently, and certainly do pull folks over looking for drugs (one of our interns got stopped going home, and the officer told her “there’s only one reason people are in this neighborhood; what kind of drugs did you buy?” :rolleyes: ). I doubt increased patrols would move people along, as (according to another coworker who grew up in the area) the majority of the folks in the neighborhood are long-term, multigenerational families.

Do you think the city council would listen to me, since I don’t live in the area? I wouldn’t be opposed to going to a meeting to have it addressed, but I wonder at the efficacy considering I’m not one of their constituents.

And clair, I think all kids at one time or another did the “run out in the street” thing- it’s the brazenness of it in this situation, the addition of “and stand there staring at you, daring you to move.” I can tell they’re emulating mom and dad who just stroll around in the middle of the road like it’s the sidewalk, but at least I normally see the adults, and they appear to be conscious of “2 tons of steel vs. 200 pounds of flesh= not good outcome.”

5

Ya know…I was just talking about this with Mr. Kalhoun the other day. I recently found out that an old friend’s son was struck and killed by a car. He was playing “chicken” and lost. My husband said that not only did he do this as a kid, but he was grazed three times!

I hate to say it, but there’s not a helluva lot you can do about this. Be very careful…if you hit someone, you will be sued regardless of who’s at fault, and your insurance company will pay out the big bucks. As blatant as they are about it, they may actually WANT to be hit. Happens all the time.