There is one school situated between my workplace and home. One school zone in which the speed limit is reduced from 50 kilometers per hour, to a snail's pace of just 30 km/h. Understandable it is, that the speed should be reduced as children are often seen jetting out into the street, in a streak of excitement at another day done and one day closer to the weekend. There are no children where I work, but come quitting time, there's a mad rush into the parking lot and an even greater mad dash to exit the parking lot.
It was just a few years ago, that on his way to school, some small child cut across the street, in the middle of the block, and found his short life cut even shorter, as he was struck down by a passing automobile. From that day forward, the speed limit was cut in front of schools. Whether they be schools still open or not, for that matter. I once received a speeding ticket while passing a school that had been closed down for some years. A stupid loop-hole that even the cop admitted was "bullshit", however his hands were tied and I was summoned a pricey ticket.
The speed limit, to me, literally is a snail's pace. My truck is barely at an idle as I creep down the street. I still glance to the side, making sure that no children come darting out in front of me. Kids can be pretty stupid sometimes, just like that little peckerwood all those years ago, who failed to see the cars heading for him. "Check both ways, stupid!!" Today, though, I realized that this low speed also seems a little creepy. Oodles of drivers creeping past schools, looking for delinquent kids? That sounds (and looks) really offbeat. Probably the only real saving grace is, most everyone are not driving unmarked panel vans, and I'm pretty god damned sure that no one behind the wheel, is sporting a clown suit.
No comments:
Post a Comment