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Inconsiderate drivers and kids who walk to school



 
 
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  #101  
Old September 30th 05, 01:52 AM
Hillary Israeli
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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  
Old October 3rd 05, 07:01 PM
Hillary Israeli
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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  
Old October 3rd 05, 10:38 PM
Beth Kevles
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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  
Old November 14th 05, 12:54 AM
Jeff
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Default 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  
Old November 15th 05, 04:23 AM
Jeff
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Default 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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