No need to be rude about it!

Since it is summer, you can expect to see families outside, people visiting with neighbors and kids playing with friends during the evening hours. Many parents have found themselves having to signal to drivers in residential neighborhoods to slow down in the presence of kids. I found myself in the same situation recently, and was appalled at the response from the driver.

The situation is repeated many times in many neighborhoods: a parent sees a car, yells "car," the kids all dart to a safe spot, the car safely passes and play resumes. In this case, I yelled "car," the kids moved to the yards, and the driver continued speeding up the street. I stepped off the curb so the driver could see me, and motioned for her to slow down, which she chose not to do.

If that was not enough, a few moments later, she came back, rolled down her window, and yelled "Twenty miles an hour!," to which I replied, "Slow down." Her response, with kids present, was to repeat "Twenty miles an hour," followed by an expletive.

What she failed to realize is that posted speed limits indicate the maximum speed allowed, not the speed you should drive regardless of what is going on around you. Common sense dictates that if you see kids playing, be mindful and slow down. Hitting a child at 20 miles an hour would be a tragedy, period.

As for the foul language that the driver in this situation felt the need to use--not surprising coming from someone without enough common sense to slow down around kids.
Lorena Billig
Oak Park