Kids speeding down my street- Am I getting too old?

[LHanson]

So I'm standing on my front lawn, talking to a good family friend. In attendance is my 3 teenage sons, the friend, and her daughter. I spy a Scion coming down the street at about 60mph (in a 20 zone). We are standing at the end of the driveway- in otherwords, near the street.

When the car is maybe 200 yards away, I start yelling and waving at it. My driveway is on the outside of a fairly tight curve, and no only does she not slow down, but for a while she aims the car right at us, swerving at the last minute.

As soon as I can get my car out of the driveway, I start looking for her- our neighborhood is a dead end and she can't leave without passing me again. I find the car, park, and knock on the door.

Young blonde comes to the glass door, and calls her dad. Dad comes to the door, opens it.

I ask "Do you know who owns the Scion?" Dad says yes, looks at girl. I state " I just saw a car that looks a lot like that one come through the neighborhood at about 60. I don't know if it was the same car, but I thought you would like to know."

Dad says "She'll take it easy from now on", I said "Have a good evening".

Handled right? She knows who ratted her out, unless she was going too fast to figure out what house it was.

[Mr. New Dilemma]

Maybe not old, but your balls have certainly turned to brass! Pretty brave for these days.

[yellowecho]

handled well.
the girl thinks you're an asshole old man.
but who cares what she thinks?
if it happens again, do the same thing.
third offense, call the cops. :]

[Fuzzles]

I would have called the cops instead of following her, not the best idea to knock on a strangers door with a complaint. Sounds like it worked out ok though. When I was a kid my older sister threw a pop can out her window and some dude followed her home to complain. My dad agreed that yes it wrong for her to litter but also a little creepy that a middle aged man in his pajamas felt the need to chase a teenage girl through the streets...

In your case it was a little more dangerous because of the speeding of course but I would call the cops to deal with it next time. Just for your personal safety.

[seafoamer]

kudos to you for taking the time to do the right thing!
Most people are too apathetic to do so.

[RichSZ]

You were a lot more calm than I would have been. I have 3 little ones all under 9 plus a number of other kids live on the street.

I get real hot when cars come speeding down my street. I'm 39 and I'd rather be that "pissed off grouchy old man" than have one of the kids get hit by an a-hole driver sppeding down a residential street.

[MudPies]

Next time, spike strips.

http://www.chiefsupply.com/Vehicle_Equipment/Spike_Systems/SPIKES

[LHanson]

I would have called the cops instead of following her, not the best idea to knock on a strangers door with a complaint. Sounds like it worked out ok though. When I was a kid my older sister threw a pop can out her window and some dude followed her home to complain. My dad agreed that yes it wrong for her to litter but also a little creepy that a middle aged man in his pajamas felt the need to chase a teenage girl through the streets...

In your case it was a little more dangerous because of the speeding of course but I would call the cops to deal with it next time. Just for your personal safety.

OK, so I call the cops. They show up 20 minutes later, and all I can say is "grey car, could have been toyota or scion. Nothing happens after that.

The way I did it, I got a tacit confession. I know a Sheriff Officer that lives in the 'hood, and I will pass along the plate number. Frankly, I was so pissed that she had aimed the car at us- even for a second, it was blatantly obvious- that I was willing to deal with whatever happened when I knocked.

I suppose, in retrospect, that I should have just gotten the address and plate number, and told Officer Dave. I'm just not sure that he would have done anything about it.

I think I probably applied about the right amount of pressure. Dad didn't look all that upset- he looked young enough that he might not have been dad at all. Who the F**k knows these days?

[coldfingaz]

You did good. She could've killed somebody!

And, you are right, the cop likely would have done nothing unless there were other witnesses willing to raise hell about it.

Very similar situation happened with my dad when my older brother & I were about 12 and 14. We lived on a very short dead end street. Some dude came screaming down the street doing about 50 (which was totally insane on the short street we lived on). My dad was sweeping the driveway, and my brother & I were on the porch about 30 yards away. After the car took the cul de sac on two wheels & came speeding back out, I could tell my dad wasn't even thinking, it was a natural reaction, but that broom left his hands and slammed right into the car. What a shot!

Dude slammed on the breaks, and he and his buddy (early 20's) jumped out of the car yelling, "What the hell are you doin'? This is a brand new car!!!". My dad is 5' 7", but he just glared at the guy and said, "Well, it was a new car". Soon, a neighbor came out & the guys left without incident. It was a very different time (this was over 30 years ago) back then, but my dad is still a hero over that one. There were several families with children younger than us, and we always used to play stick ball, tennis & all sorts of stuff in the cul de sac.

[carnivore]

No your not old... kids get killed every day by speeders flying down back roads.

[wizard333]

If she doesn't "take it easy" next time, perhaps waking up to a knifed tire would send the message more poignantly. Rinse/repeat until desired effect is achieved.

[Fuzzles]

OK, so I call the cops. They show up 20 minutes later, and all I can say is "grey car, could have been toyota or scion. Nothing happens after that.

The way I did it, I got a tacit confession. I know a Sheriff Officer that lives in the 'hood, and I will pass along the plate number. Frankly, I was so pissed that she had aimed the car at us- even for a second, it was blatantly obvious- that I was willing to deal with whatever happened when I knocked.

I suppose, in retrospect, that I should have just gotten the address and plate number, and told Officer Dave. I'm just not sure that he would have done anything about it.

I think I probably applied about the right amount of pressure. Dad didn't look all that upset- he looked young enough that he might not have been dad at all. Who the F**k knows these days?

Yeah all I am saying is I am worried about safety man, it pisses me off too when people speed in front of my place. If you had called the police with the plates I doubt they would have came out but more likely called or sent a written warning, idk. I think alot of factors play into it, what kind of neighborhood so on, just the other day there was a thread about the guy getting shot because his dog pissed on someones grass. It really sounds like you took care of it and I am sure her dad was yelling for her the second you left, lol.

[The Last Rebel]

If she doesn't "take it easy" next time, perhaps waking up to a knifed tire would send the message more poignantly. Rinse/repeat until desired effect is achieved.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj40/aviator113/InternetToughGuy2.gif

[Chuck Snider]

get off my lawn !!!

[LHanson]

get off my lawn !!!

Never made it on to my lawn. Would have been a completely different situation had that happened.

So, you support blondes in Scions running at YOUR front lawn where there is 6 people standing at 60 MPH?

[dougk]

I feel your pain.

Last year some jack ass came ripping around the intersection and lost control and came across my front yard (while I wasn't home). Lucky for him the next yard is up hill and the drastic difference in elevation between yards must have buried the air dam on his car.

This saved his life of my neighbors because had it not suddenly stopped he either would have hit his 30 year old oak tree or gone through his house.

Its a real problem on my my street, well that and the douche who MUST drive his Harley at the top of first gear at 4:30am every morning. Ugh...

[Chuck Snider]

Never made it on to my lawn. Would have been a completely different situation had that happened.

So, you support blondes in Scions running at YOUR front lawn where there is 6 people standing at 60 MPH?

No,
I was making humor about it..
I'm 49 years old and I think people don't raise their kids right anymore
So suck it!

Joke again(If you can't handle that)

[Mr. New Dilemma]

I remember a few years ago in Atlanta, a kid was flying through a neighborhood when one of the residents became irate and threw a real estate sign at the car. The sign entered the car and pierced the teenage drivers neck. He lived, but that guy got in some kind of legal mess.

[ungarn]

You did very well.
No, you are not too old...but definitely on that path!
I worry more about texting drivers now than speeding.

[mcdonaldkd]

Well done.

[smiert spionam]

Seems like a good response, and hopefully a decent outcome.

[getbent]

you did her a favor. good job. (seriously)

[TwoTubMan]

...well that and the douche who MUST drive his Harley at the top of first gear at 4:30am every morning. Ugh...

You have one of those too, huh? Does he also sit in his driveway for 20 minutes revving his engine before he leaves, while looking around to see if anyone has noticed just how awesome he is?

[LHanson]

No,
I was making humor about it..
I'm 49 years old and I think people don't raise their kids right anymore
So suck it!

Joke again(If you can't handle that)

It's all Good, Chuck. Just throw a smilie after your statement, so I get your meaning.

Ever rebuild a Yam RD400?

[ProgLuv]

LHansen, I think you did good.

My story:
A neighbor teen girl had a boyfriend that would speed around my parents residential 'hood in his Ford F150.

While dad and I were shuffling cars in the driveway one day, the punk comes flying around the corner at about 40mph
and almost nails my dad's truck as he is backing out. I am waiting at the curb in my vehicle and see the whole thing in terror.

Punk(w/said girlfriend in car) slams on the breaks, then peels out around dad to show his bad-ass-ness.

I motion to dad to follow me down the street to follow this little phuck because I know where the girlfriend lives having jammed with her brother...I know the father too.

The teens are just getting out when we pull up. The offending driver about shits when he sees 6'5"/over 200lbs. me get out of my truck ready for a confrontation.

I tell the girl to go get her father, and then verbally tear into this punk...
He THOUGHT he was bad, but he folded like a sissy when confronted by an angry,
adult.

The father comes out, and ask(yell) him if he likes his daughter driving with such a
dangerous driver, and describe the scene. The girl is crying and starts to apologize...

I said verbatum: "No, your shitty boyfriend is going to apologize to my dad,
and if this happens again, I will fix things so he won't ever want to come back."

The cool look on dad's face, and the scared-shitless look on the punk's face as he apologized was priceless. I heard dad tell him, "My son has a short temper, do not mess with him." Only saw him one other time in the area after that.

Today, I do not advocate this type of confrontation as gang affiliated kids might pull a driveby. This is aproblem in the S. Texas area these days...shootings if you offend the cholos.

[popinvasion]

I can't understand 16 year olds being allowed to drive and have a license. Its nuts to me. My mother didn't let me drive till I was 18 and I still was not fully prepared. I don't think I was a good driver technically till 20. I am 33 and I get majorly pissed at people that endanger and treat neighborhoods like the racetrack.

[Chuck Snider]

It's all Good, Chuck. Just throw a smilie after your statement, so I get your meaning.

Ever rebuild a Yam RD400?

No I haven't.. Do you mean a whole rod/crank/ + tranny job?

[marcoaml78]

i am 24 yo, and i do NOT tolerate speeders...i hate them with all my soul, i live in a place where kids play on the street and then some random f... comes speeding at 60-65..(despite the speed bumps and numerous signs that say "children playing") i am a little more agressive because i usually throw whatever i can find at the moment at them (if what's near is a stone, so be it) they won't stop till they run someone over..and it has happened here...

i think you handled it a lot more civilized than i usually do...

[smiert spionam]

One of my uncles got tired of this kind of crap, and dug a trench a foot deep and a foot wide across the street just past his house (of course, it was a gravel road in a town of less than a thousand residents). It got the message across.

[schmidlin]

I don't know what you speak of. I live in Mayberry.

:)

[scottlr]

I'd have done the same thing in our neighborhood, but it's not that likely to happen for awhile. I have no problem with someone doing 35 or so if they are in control, but 60 would blow my stack. There's only a few young children in the neighborhood, but lots of cats and dogs, including my dogs. And there are several folks that like to walk/run. I cannot imagine anyone in the neighborhood tolerating that kind of driving. You did right, my friend!

[twinrider1]

I think the OP did the right thing. Speeding, and running stop signs, on my street bugs me to no end. I'd really like to mount one of these in my front yard.

http://www.arcticwebsite.com/WhaleHarpGun1.jpg

[LHanson]

Some folks:

Don't knock on the door! Personal confrontation = fight!


Some folks:

Dude, why can't you take care of this, without dragging TEH MAN into it?

I see both POV.


Hence my post.

[dougb415]

When the car is maybe 200 yards away, I start yelling and waving at it.

She's two football fields away from you and you start yelling?

[popinvasion]

She's two football fields away from you and you start yelling?


lol

[LHanson]

She's two football fields away from you and you start yelling?

200 yards is a short distance when a car is accelerating to 60 mph+. I could hear it- she had if floored.

[dougb415]

I could hear it- she had if floored.

Yes - but at 200 yards, could she hear you?

[phoenix 7]

60 MPH in a 20 MPH zone is insane. And her aiming the car at you is beyond the pale. You did good.

[Blindspot]

There was a kid in my neighborhood who was always bombing up and down the street on his crap motocross bike, maybe a 125cc. One day he rode one wheel up the hill and between a group of young kids. I called the cops on him several times. They would go to his house, have a word with the father, but couldn't do much. The father did nothing.

He would also drive his car erratically and too fast going in and out of the neighborhood.

Several months ago, he drove someone else's car - head on into a tree at a good 50MPH+. He's dead now.

Sad, but I can't say anyone that looked didn't see it coming.

[ahardmark]

You were a lot more calm than I would have been. I have 3 little ones all under 9 plus a number of other kids live on the street.

I get real hot when cars come speeding down my street. I'm 39 and I'd rather be that "pissed off grouchy old man" than have one of the kids get hit by an a-hole driver sppeding down a residential street.

+1. My feelings exactly. Lots of young kids in my neighborhood riding bikes, etc.

[crosse79]

There was a kid in my neighborhood who was always bombing up and down the street on his crap motocross bike, maybe a 125cc. One day he rode one wheel up the hill and between a group of young kids. I called the cops on him several times. They would go to his house, have a word with the father, but couldn't do much. The father did nothing.

He would also drive his car erratically and too fast going in and out of the neighborhood.

Several months ago, he drove someone else's car - head on into a tree at a good 50MPH+. He's dead now.

Sad, but I can't say anyone that looked didn't see it coming.

I am deeply concerned - how's the tree doing?

[DavidG]

Thinking of getting up a petition in my neighborhood to get some speed bumps or something? Our street is only about 100 yds long and its just crazy how some of these fools drive through it.

There's this one guy that races a crotch rocket down my little street..and I swear i've never wished harm on anyone butt...I hope he...well I hope he learns his lesson before its too late. I have grandkids that do like to play and hang out in my front yard. There's also other kids playing down my street.

Respect to the op of this thread.;)

[wareagle]

better that you did that, i live near a corner of a main street and in a town where 200,000$ ferrari's are something to laugh at. So these idiotic 18 year olds think its cute to drag race down 106 (not a highway but no side street 55mph 4 lane) and the try to make a short turn at my corner and half the time wind up killing or injuring people. happens all the time, many times a year. so better that you told the father and hopefully he said something...

[HammyD]

You did the right thing.

There was a recent report that concluded that the part of the brain that deals with judgement and consequences in kids, especially boys, is not developing as fast as it once did.

They did a test with teenagers where they gave them the whole spiel about staying away from handguns, and then planted a revolver (firing pin disabled) where they would find it. Despite all the kids were told, they still played with the gun and pulled the trigger.

But I do not think it is always a result of age and a lack of physiological development as illustrated by this local story!

Spartanburg woman, 72, arrested in Union, going 102 mph to hair appointment

WSPA/News Channel 7

UNION – Union police arrested a Spartanburg woman who they say was traveling 102 miles per hour – over twice the speed limit – because she was late for a hair appointment.


Sandra Weiss Powell, 72, was charged with reckless driving after she was stopped Tuesday morning on Highway 176.

The Union police report says the officer spotted a tan Buick moving at high rate of speed in a 45 mph zone. The officer said the car was “all over the road.”

The officer says Powell nearly hit another vehicle before she stopped at the intersection with Highway 215.

The Union officer says Powell claimed to be all right, but was “upset because she was late for a hair appointment.” The arresting officer said Powell acknowledged she knew she was traveling faster than 100 miles an hour.

She was arrested and taken to the Union County Jail.

[KazJY]

People speed down my street all the time - speed limit is 25, and guess what? One of the main offenders is a green Scion. I know where SHE lives, but haven't went to the door yet. Parents want to know about this - well, I know I would if it were my kid. The single Mom across the street who travels a lot is going to find out that her 18 year old son litters the street with empty beer cans while she is gone too... Someday, but I don't want the retaliation from the kid. I am just tired of picking up the cans. I don't care what he does with his buddies. (hey, I did it too, I just didn't litter). Anyhow.

I don't think that girl is going to do anything, but she'll probably take it easy if her parents are worth their salt. In another year or two, she'll realize she was being an idiot.

I just wish it were against the law to text while driving. These laws aren't being passed quick enough.

-Old Man Kaz

[THebert]

So I'm standing on my front lawn, talking to a good family friend. In attendance is my 3 teenage sons, the friend, and her daughter. I spy a Scion coming down the street at about 60mph (in a 20 zone). We are standing at the end of the driveway- in otherwords, near the street.

When the car is maybe 200 yards away, I start yelling and waving at it. My driveway is on the outside of a fairly tight curve, and no only does she not slow down, but for a while she aims the car right at us, swerving at the last minute.

As soon as I can get my car out of the driveway, I start looking for her- our neighborhood is a dead end and she can't leave without passing me again. I find the car, park, and knock on the door.

Young blonde comes to the glass door, and calls her dad. Dad comes to the door, opens it.

I ask "Do you know who owns the Scion?" Dad says yes, looks at girl. I state " I just saw a car that looks a lot like that one come through the neighborhood at about 60. I don't know if it was the same car, but I thought you would like to know."

Dad says "She'll take it easy from now on", I said "Have a good evening".

Handled right? She knows who ratted her out, unless she was going too fast to figure out what house it was.

You handled it better than I would have. Good job!

[Gitarman]

Unbeknown to me when we bought our house, out street was used as something of a shortcut by area high school kids for many years. According to our neighbor, they've clocked idiots coming through at 70+ mph.

Thankfully, they built a new HS shortly before we moved in, so most of that sort of traffic is a thing of the past, but we still get more than our fair share of idiots flying through.

Furthermore, there's a 90 degree bend at the end of the street that one of them inevitably misses every 6 months or so, taking out the markers, cars, trees, etc of the person who lives nearest that corner. The worst one that I've seen was when one of them managed to plow into a parked van, turn it sideways, push it all the way up their driveway & nearly into their garage.

I recently had to call the cops on some neighborhood punk who was racing his crotch-rocket up and down the street repeatedly. Even though they showed up within a few minutes (we're <2 miles from the nearest PD), he had stopped by the time they got there. Haven't seen him in a while, though.


-Get offa my lawn! :mad:

[ultrevex]

So I'm standing on my front lawn, talking to a good family friend. In attendance is my 3 teenage sons, the friend, and her daughter. I spy a Scion coming down the street at about 60mph (in a 20 zone). We are standing at the end of the driveway- in otherwords, near the street.

When the car is maybe 200 yards away, I start yelling and waving at it. My driveway is on the outside of a fairly tight curve, and no only does she not slow down, but for a while she aims the car right at us, swerving at the last minute.

As soon as I can get my car out of the driveway, I start looking for her- our neighborhood is a dead end and she can't leave without passing me again. I find the car, park, and knock on the door.

Young blonde comes to the glass door, and calls her dad. Dad comes to the door, opens it.

I ask "Do you know who owns the Scion?" Dad says yes, looks at girl. I state " I just saw a car that looks a lot like that one come through the neighborhood at about 60. I don't know if it was the same car, but I thought you would like to know."

Dad says "She'll take it easy from now on", I said "Have a good evening".

Handled right? She knows who ratted her out, unless she was going too fast to figure out what house it was.

I think you handled it perfectly. How lost are we if we can't calmly confront our neighbors to try and resolve a serious issue? We have similar issues in our neighborhood, speeders and people passing the school bus as kids get on and off. The wife and I tried politely worded hand bills , more handbills, requested an officer to sit and ticket the offenders and finally petitioned the county for speed bumps. At the obligatory town hall meeting, the majority of folks who showed up were the community's 'empty nesters', who were so rude, venomous and immature that the meeting ended up in chaos. We're trying for the second consecutive year to sell our home and move.

Hope yours resolves more amicably than ours did.

[guitarpkr67]

I think you handled it well.

[pickaguitar]

Op



you're old.

[LHanson]

Op



you're old.

OK, how would you have handled it?

[pickaguitar]

Wouldn't have said a word...folks speed all the time

[TNJ]

That really pisses me off when people drive like douches,
with no regard for injuring/killing themselves or others.
Just thoughtless...

When you have kids/pets/property to protect, the world becomes
a different place. (If you have none of the above to get in harm's way, you may not understand)

Good on the OP for doing the right thing.
Give us some follow up...if you see her drive by
again.

S.j

[LHanson]

Thinking of getting up a petition in my neighborhood to get some speed bumps or something? Our street is only about 100 yds long and its just crazy how some of these fools drive through it.

There's this one guy that races a crotch rocket down my little street..and I swear i've never wished harm on anyone butt...I hope he...well I hope he learns his lesson before its too late. I have grandkids that do like to play and hang out in my front yard. There's also other kids playing down my street.

Respect to the op of this thread.;)

I wouldn't mind the speed bumps, but because the neighborhood is basically a big cul-de-sac, some layer of gov't has a rule against speed bumps- something about emergency vehicles.

[whitehall]

handled well.
the girl thinks you're an asshole old man.
but who cares what she thinks?
if it happens again, do the same thing.
third offense, call the cops. :]
+1 This

[pickaguitar]

If I told one to slow down...then what about the other 57 speeding cars that day?

[The Golden Boy]

Our street has our fair share of kids driving fast.

Some of our neighbors got some of those "slow down" signs and put them in their front yards. One morning we woke up to find them all pulled out and laying on people's lawns.

[LHanson]

Wouldn't have said a word...folks speed all the time

Cool. So I'm old because I don't just ignore stupid, dangerous lawbreaking behavior on my own street.

And, no, "folks" don't speed all the time- not on my street. It's posted 20, and nearly everybody does 20.

Of course, I already knew I was old- It's too loud.:bonk

[dankayaker]

I'm out in rural Va. so speed limits are 55. Had this doughy good-ol-boy and his Mustang racing by a few years back . . .loudest car I've ever heard . . . after a couple calls to the Sheriff and letting him see me in the road video taping his fat doughy ass he disappeared. . . .I guess I'm still a little mad about it.

[pickaguitar]

:facepalm

[MudPies]

Yeah, ignore it. Who are you people to tell others how to drive?

:facepalm

[LHanson]

If I told one to slow down...then what about the other 57 speeding cars that day?

I'm not going to chase down every car that I think is going 21 mph- but I will if one is going WAY FUKKING TOO FAST like the one last evening. I've only done it one other time, about 4 years ago, when 2 ricers were having a FREAKING DRAG RACE down the road, and nearly ran over one of my neighbors that was sitting on the curb talking on her cell phone. That one turned into a shouting match- because I started writing down plate numbers in front of the lameasses. I had my wife with me, and when they threatened me because I was writing their numbers down, I told her to call 911. That sent them into the house, and we never saw them again.

[neastguy]

crap, I remember when I first got my license.. I did some stupid stuff too.. so did my friends.. we were young....

[paul-p]

Happened near here.
It took some calls to the cops to get them to pay attention.
Finally they put up one of those mobile speed detectors.
90s were recorded in a 25.

You know what's fun? Actually driving the street and keeping it pinned to 25.

[Axemeister]

I live in a nice area in an L.A. suburb. There are some folks a few doors up who are apparently in the exotic car business. They are zooming around here in exotic cars at 50 -60 mph on residential streets and it pisses me off. When I say exotic cars, I mean cars such as Lambos, Ferraris, Porsches, and AMG MBs.

I have three dogs and if one of them were to be out in the street they could become roadkill to these guys. It is not cool or safe.

I have started calling the Police to report it and a few weeks ago there was a black and white LAPD car in their driveway. Maybe they were getting warned in person, or maybe the cop was just a buddy of theirs. However, I have not seen much speeding lately.

[scottlr]

There's a few well known shortcuts here in town that go through residential areas. They are great shortcuts, too. I have never seen folks driving that fast on any of the three I use regularly. But one day, on one of them, I see they had put up about 4-5 speed bumps that are so big (6 inches high and about 2 to the other side) you can't even drive the speed limit over them. I don't know about other folks, but just having them there has kept me from even using that route unless I have to. Maybe that was the intent?

[MudPies]

Happened near here.
It took some calls to the cops to get them to pay attention.
Finally they put up one of those mobile speed detectors.
90s were recorded in a 25.

You know what's fun? Actually driving the street and keeping it pinned to 25.

Yes it is. I do that on the East River Parkway here (posted 25mph. lots of pushy fools think they can get me to go faster)