Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
Nearly every time someone decides to make a turn across a crosswalk when we are walking, they don’t wait long enough. They often get within 3 feet of me or my little boy. We always wait for the light, we always hold hands, and we always look both ways…and yet this still happens. I realize that my screaming at them (I’m trying to control my language but it’s hard) is not doing any good. Unfortunately I don’t carry raw eggs with me or a big rock to scratch their car. Today this happened, and I actually picked up my kid even though I am not supposed to lift anything just to make sure he saw her. He yelled a curse at us.
Why is this happening in a family neighborhood in Brooklyn? I know from driving that it is really hard to always see the crosswalks so you have to be extra careful. That’s hard, but the people who keep doing this clearly see us first. They just don’t care. They don’t care about children’s lives.
Nearly every time I look at the local news another kid dies crossing the street. Take the Streets NYC recently put 22 empty shoes in front de Blasio’s gym to protest the traffic deaths, but no one thinks he noticed. He thinks he already did something, but it isn’t enough.
NYC just passed a law that says drivers who get 5 camera-issued red light tickets or 15 camera-issued speeding tickets in a 12-month period will have to take a traffic safety course or risk losing their vehicles. A safety course!! This is like a nice pat on the head for people who endanger lives. 15 tickets in 12 months is crazy. It means nothing will discourage them.
So, what can we do? For one, be more careful when you drive. Make sure if you see someone you know do something reckless, you tell them. I’m going to start trying to remember license plate numbers.
– A Mom in Brooklyn
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