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#101
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In ,
Kevin Karplus wrote: *This would require giving up a little of the playing field (which I'm *only guessing that the school owns) and I have no idea where the money *for the driveway would come from. There may also be NIMBYism from the *people who live on the side street. While I have no doubt that the money could be sucked from the parents if the parents were convinced this was a good idea, I have grave doubts that the school would be able to get the required property rights to put in a driveway. That street we're talking about having the new driveway open onto, it's lined with private residences - private residences owned by people with deep, deep pockets. -h. -- Hillary Israeli, VMD Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read." --Groucho Marx |
#102
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I have a final followup for the time being (if I have any news to report about the situation at my son's school, I will post then). I just thought that in light of our recent discussions you might all perhaps groan along with me at this.... AFTER dropping my son of at school the other day, and driving about 2/3 of the way from his school to my daughter's school, I was taking a road I don't normally take at that time of day because of a traffic problem and... I got pulled over for exceeding 15 MPH in a school zone. In my defense I can only say I truly didn't realize there WAS a school zone there. I went back and looked for the sign later and I figured out that I hadn't seen the sign because the cop who pulled me over had at the time had his big-ass SUV parked in such a way that it blocked my view of it (he had someone else pulled over as I approached - I had even slowed down because I saw his flashing lights and he was partially blocking my lane requiring me to turn my head to the left to ensure I could slide over into that lane a tiny bit without cutting anyone off. So that's why I missed the sign!). It wasn't a "real" school - it was a daycare inside a church, but they do have a real "school zone 15 mph" sign, I just had never noticed it before. Whoops. Lucky for me he just gave me a warning! -- Hillary Israeli, VMD Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read." --Groucho Marx |
#103
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Hi -- Actually, if you feel up to it, you might send in a letter to the police station explaining what happened. If you make it clear that you didn't think the cop himself realized that his SUV was blocking the only sign indicating the school zone, then the station may mention it to its officers and the situation may not recur. I was once ticketed for not obeying an invisible sign. I took photographs and fought the ticket. The result was that the sign was replaced with a more visible version (which is the result I wanted). In most jurisdictions, people in charge actually care about these things. Not so many towns these days are attempting to make money by trapping the unwary motorist, at least not in my neck of the woods. My two cents, --Beth Kevles http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner. NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would like me to reply. |
#104
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Inconsiderate drivers and kids who walk to school
When I was a kid, we had to walk uphill 10 miles to/from school both ways.
Personally, I would bring up the safety issues at the next school board meeting and to the local police immediately. I'd make video tapes and bring them to the school board meeting and send them to the police. If you organize the parents in your immediate area, you might also be able to do some things, like have a sit in (that is, sit in your cars near the school, so that the rude parents cannot get their kids close to the school), put up pickets, request speed bumps and if you get them, park cars near the speed bumps so that parents have to go over them, try to encourage the police department to ticket speeding parents, etc. You also need to check out the local laws and make the police and school aware of the local laws. You might also be able to do some things, like get a designated drop off/pick up area near the school, perhaps located so that walking to school is safer. In most years, there are very few kids killed in bus crashes, but several hundred kids killed in car crashes around the time that kids are going to and coming from school. So school buses are like 10 to 100 times safer than cars. Not to mention how much fuel is wasted drivng kids to school. Jeff |
#105
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Inconsiderate drivers and kids who walk to school
"shinypenny" wrote in message ups.com... Hillary Israeli wrote: In . com, shinypenny wrote: *I went to the URL you posted, and just one nit: not all states have a *yield to pedestrian rule. In PA (at least when I lived there years ago) *pedestrians must yield to traffic. Where I live now we do have a yield *to pedestrian rule. When I first moved here, it took me a long while to *get used to that. :-) That was not true when I got my PA drivers' license in 1986, and it is still not true. From the PA state drivers' manual: -Yield to pedestrians crossing at intersections or in crosswalks. -When approaching a stopped car from behind, slow down, and do not pass until you are sure there are no pedestrians crossing in front of it. -Right turn on red means STOP, LOOK in all directions, and then turn when it is safe. Look for pedestrians, and allow ample time for them to clear the crosswalk. -Be extra attentive when driving at night or durin gother periods of reduced visibility. Keep your windows fog and frost free. Even with good visibility, pedestrians are less conspicuous than vehicles. -Always reduce speed when passing children. You must observe school zone speed limits and stop for school buses when red signals are flashing. -Be patient with elderly pedestrians. Usually they need extra time to cross a street. -Before backing, always check for pedestrians in your path. -Be especially considerate to pedestrians with disabilities. -Yield the right-of-way (stop if necessary) to blind pedestrians, whether they have a white cane or a dog or are led by others. http://www.dot10.state.pa.us/pdotfor...section_10.pdf -- Hillary Israeli, VMD That's incredibly bizarre! I got my license in PA in 1982, and I don't remember anything like this in the manual I studied. And when I went to college in PA and there was no such rule, or at least it sure *seemed* there wasn't!! It was annoying because as a pedestrian you pretty much took your own life in your hands, since cars would not stop... it would take a mass of pedestrians moving together across the walk, before the cars would bother to stop. And then, it was a rolling stop... all this, in a college town with lots of pedestrians. I always laugh when people say that Boston drivers are the worse. Philly drivers are FAR worse than any driver I've seen around here in MA! LOL! Just take a cruise on the Sure-Kill... ;-) New York and New Jersey drivers are the worst I have seen. I have driven in Boston and Southern California as well, and they are not nearly as bad as NYC and New Jersey drivers. Philly drivers are not that bad. I was in Philly just two weeks ago and lived there for 8 years (1987 to 1995). I do wish the government would do what they do in England, and enforce the road laws very strickly and have real strick requirements for getting a license, like very intense tests. That would, IMHO, cut down on the death rate for drivers, which is way too high compared to what it should be. And I would start by making it illegal to use a cell phone while driving (including hands-free). But that's just me. Jeff jen |
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