SUV fighters, rejoice

Hallelujah. . .Many thanks, Michael Reardon, for your amazingly accurate description of the unbelievable carelessness and downright dangerous behavior of some of our Oak Park parents when they are behind the wheel of a car or SUV.

I was the traffic safety chairperson for one of our Oak Park elementary schools last year and I naively thought I could stop the horrendous behavior of parents who couldn’t seem to follow basic safety rules when dropping off and picking up their children from school.

Even worse, I lacked the full support of the principal when attempting to apply and reinforce the rules as well as police the situation. Any communication considered disciplinary or negative towards the offending parents was immediately censored or edited from the school bulletin.

As a result, I created a positive reinforcement program that would acknowledge and reward those who followed the rules rather than punish those who did not, but even with that program being a success, parents still were reckless and discourteous.

I eventually resigned out of frustration and, to this day, have to bite my tongue when I see even my good friends breaking traffic safety rules.

So thank you, Michael Reardon, for now I know I am not alone. Your words really scratched an itch. Lori Andrews Oak Park