Report or ignore?
Discussion
A dilemma..
Granddaughter was riding her scooter along the pavement, with other kids in the road. Playing nicely. Close by. Quiet cul-de-sac. We was chatting to neighbours, their kids playing.
Elderly neighbour, well into 80s, reversed off of her drive at speed. We saw it happening in slow motion.., thought she would be aware/stop. Thankfully missed granddaughter by a whisker. Car mounted the kerb the other side of the road & sped off!
Apparantly it’s not the first time it’s happened…
I’m all for live & let live, but was a close shave, I doubt driver was even aware.
I don’t know her too well but will have a polite word.
Should it be reported?
Sure the kids should be under supervision, but the driver shouldn’t reverse out across the pavement in a reckless manner.
Granddaughter was riding her scooter along the pavement, with other kids in the road. Playing nicely. Close by. Quiet cul-de-sac. We was chatting to neighbours, their kids playing.
Elderly neighbour, well into 80s, reversed off of her drive at speed. We saw it happening in slow motion.., thought she would be aware/stop. Thankfully missed granddaughter by a whisker. Car mounted the kerb the other side of the road & sped off!
Apparantly it’s not the first time it’s happened…
I’m all for live & let live, but was a close shave, I doubt driver was even aware.
I don’t know her too well but will have a polite word.
Should it be reported?
Sure the kids should be under supervision, but the driver shouldn’t reverse out across the pavement in a reckless manner.
Depends how the informal chat goes...
If they're mortified at how close they were to injuring someone and seem to genuinely take advice on board (eg. perhaps wise to reverse on so they have better visibility driving off their driveway forwards?) then personally I wouldn't report unless it happened again.
If they seem like they genuinely don't give a toss then I'd report it even if the odds are that it goes absolutely nowhere (and isn't even certain that a copper would even go around for a chat).
If they're mortified at how close they were to injuring someone and seem to genuinely take advice on board (eg. perhaps wise to reverse on so they have better visibility driving off their driveway forwards?) then personally I wouldn't report unless it happened again.
If they seem like they genuinely don't give a toss then I'd report it even if the odds are that it goes absolutely nowhere (and isn't even certain that a copper would even go around for a chat).
How old is your grandaughter?
Old enough to know that the sound of a car starting means that there might be a car emerging from a drive?
If yes, then she should have been aware of the potential danger
If no, then someone should have been very close to her at all times
She was playing on a public street, not in a park.
Old enough to know that the sound of a car starting means that there might be a car emerging from a drive?
If yes, then she should have been aware of the potential danger
If no, then someone should have been very close to her at all times
She was playing on a public street, not in a park.
omniflow said:
How old is your grandaughter?
Old enough to know that the sound of a car starting means that there might be a car emerging from a drive?
If yes, then she should have been aware of the potential danger
If no, then someone should have been very close to her at all times
She was playing on a public street, not in a park.
Unobservant driver was driving on a pavement, not a carriageway...Old enough to know that the sound of a car starting means that there might be a car emerging from a drive?
If yes, then she should have been aware of the potential danger
If no, then someone should have been very close to her at all times
She was playing on a public street, not in a park.
(My point being that the driver should have expected pedestrians and driven accordingly)
omniflow said:
How old is your grandaughter?
Old enough to know that the sound of a car starting means that there might be a car emerging from a drive?
If yes, then she should have been aware of the potential danger
If no, then someone should have been very close to her at all times
She was playing on a public street, not in a park.
On the pavement where she should be safe. Old enough to know that the sound of a car starting means that there might be a car emerging from a drive?
If yes, then she should have been aware of the potential danger
If no, then someone should have been very close to her at all times
She was playing on a public street, not in a park.
Definitely report it maybe nothing happens maybe they have a chat. Mounting the kerb is worrying nevermind not seeing the child.
ReverendCounter said:
James6112 said:
...I don’t know her too well but will have a polite word.
Should it be reported? ...
Yes it should be reported, yes you should have a chat but I would expect denial and a steadfast refusal to accept she has to give up this independence.Should it be reported? ...
Maybe if she gets something in the post instead of a chat, it might have a longer lasting impression - she might be at the stage where she forgets everything including the chat.
And if you do have a chat, personally I wouldn't be too polite. I would be firm and direct without being aggressive and I would record the audio, so you can fend off any allegations of bullying/harassment.
Good luck getting her to change at that age.
Pica-Pica said:
ReverendCounter said:
James6112 said:
...I don’t know her too well but will have a polite word.
Should it be reported? ...
Yes it should be reported, yes you should have a chat but I would expect denial and a steadfast refusal to accept she has to give up this independence.Should it be reported? ...
Maybe if she gets something in the post instead of a chat, it might have a longer lasting impression - she might be at the stage where she forgets everything including the chat.
And if you do have a chat, personally I wouldn't be too polite. I would be firm and direct without being aggressive and I would record the audio, so you can fend off any allegations of bullying/harassment.
Good luck getting her to change at that age.
...so anyway, it was that pesky bush all along? And gave off such a strong scent that interfered with the drivers ability to brake? Or was that gravel on the driveway embedded on the sole of her favourite, super-smooth-soled, most comfy shoes? That they're now getting the driveway tarmaced, just to be extra sure?
(I once saw an older woman sitting in her car with the engine running, door open, head down, in a parking space. I thought she was having a seizure or something, but when I said hello, do you need any help with anything, she replied, I've just got this new car and my feet keep slipping off the pedals, I can't figure out why. Anyway, I'm going to church, so I'll pray to the lord to see if he'll give me the answer.
She said it in such a convincing manner that I thought, she actually believes in god. And that the interior detailing spray used when prepping the car would be religioned away within the next few minutes.
So, yeah, OP. If only you'd warned your children to stay away from the bush which is obviously trying to lure them to their death, then it could have lived, but now it MUST die as a sacrifice to appease you.
Killer bush must die
Edited by ReverendCounter on Friday 14th October 00:59
Edited by ReverendCounter on Friday 14th October 01:02
James6112 said:
Had a polite chat.
They were pretty upset TBH.
In their defence, there is a bush in their front garden which obscured their view, not immediately obvious from my angle.
So the bush is coming down.
Will keep a close eye when the kids are playing in the street ..
simple solution would appear to be for her to reverse ONTO her drive. Then she won't nearly kill kids she can't see because they're behind her and there's a bush obscuring her view, because they'll be in front of her and the bush will be on the other side of the car relative to the driving seat.They were pretty upset TBH.
In their defence, there is a bush in their front garden which obscured their view, not immediately obvious from my angle.
So the bush is coming down.
Will keep a close eye when the kids are playing in the street ..
People who reverse OFF driveways are f
king idiots. Especially those reversing off driveways onto main roads. And if they insist it's easier/better/more convenient than reversing onto the drive and leaving facing forwards, then they need to inch the car off that driveway at a crawl, taking extra care to stop, look around, then inch a bit further UNTIL they can see things are clear. This is especially important with the increase in EVs, but even with ICE cars drivers MUST make provision for persons who may be deaf, hard of hearing, wearing headphones or engrossed in a telephone call. This is because any driver leaving their driveway across a footway MUST give way to road users on that footway. They, after all, are already using the road, whereas a driveway is NOT part of the road so the driver is not YET a "road user".TL;DR? PEOPLE are far more important to look after than poxy f
king cars, which can readily be replaced, where children cannot. Report the daft old moo anyway. If she's making errors of judgement like that due to old age, sensory issues, or something like dementia, then it's only a matter of time before she crashes into something, or worse, someone.yellowjack said:
Report the daft old moo anyway. If she's making errors of judgement like that due to old age, sensory issues, or something like dementia, then it's only a matter of time before she crashes into something, or worse, someone.
No, no - it's the bush you see? Once its gone, that's it.James6112 said:
Had a polite chat.
They were pretty upset TBH.
In their defence, there is a bush in their front garden which obscured their view, not immediately obvious from my angle.
So the bush is coming down.
Will keep a close eye when the kids are playing in the street ..
Well done. They were pretty upset TBH.
In their defence, there is a bush in their front garden which obscured their view, not immediately obvious from my angle.
So the bush is coming down.
Will keep a close eye when the kids are playing in the street ..
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