Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Readers' Scoop: Walking On Roads At Night

(Below is an unedited letter submitted to us by a reader. TLS welcomes your letters at thelakewoodscoop@gmail.com . The views are solely those of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of TLS).

Gentlemen or to whom it concern,

As a long time resident of Lakewood, I have witnessed thousands of near misses in which the young students making their way home walking along the sides of the local roadways have almost gotten hit by cars and trucks. Most of these occurrences happen during the evening hours. Tonight while driving along Cross Street near the railroad crossing I came within a foot of running over a poor student-he was over the white line in the road. I NEVER SAW this poor kid until he was inches of getting severely injured ... PLEASE_PLEASE reach out to the leaders of the schools to have them remind the young men to wear the safety reflector or move off to the side of the roadway when practical...I know the Scoop has a large following--maybe you can remind everybody of safety measures to ensure these young men arrive home in one piece for the sake of their loved ones. Thank you for any help you can give on this subject.

Best regards,

A Friend.

14 comments:

chaim moshe said...

I hoped u picked him up and gave him a ride otherwise u prob don't really care about him as he could have gotten hit later , but the truth is the boys should wear reflectors

berel said...

Were u on ur cell phone ?maybe that's why u didn't c him

bagel head said...

Pep should wear reflectors !

Anonymous said...

Its more than just wearing reflectors. Whenever you walk down the street, YOU - the pedestrian, have to be defensive. NEVER assume that the drivers can see you - even by day! This applies to bicycle riders as well. Children ride their bicycles, tricycles etc... and make believe its a private playground. More so, where are the helmets? There was a child who got hit on his bike last night, imagine the catastrophe that would've ensued had he not been wearing his helmet c"v??
Let is take a proactive approach and teach our children where to walk, how to ride and adequately protect ourselves.
Have a safe and healthy summer

Anonymous said...

How about just a litte commonsense and get out of the road. The road is meant for cars not so people can walk four across and ignore the sidewalk. At least stay on the other side of the white line when there's no sidewalk so you don't become a hood ornament. It's the arogence that drivers should be driving around you that could get you hit.

Anonymous said...

you know berel and chaim moshe - i have to take offense with you on your comments - how dare you take a perfectly normal good suggestion and just look to blame UNSAFE behavior on somebody else. what is with you - put on the darn belt - nobody can see the bachurim they are dark shadows in the night, dark clothes, etc. - even if you are staring all over - you CANNOT see them. Put on reflectors and stop being FOOLS.

Unknown said...

Can you still get a reflector at Yussi's and a few other stores? Anyone know?

Anonymous said...

I almost his a bochur and i notice it all too often. They are trying to hitch a ride and think if they are standing 5 feet from the curb and making cars go around them they might get a ride.... Let them stay on the sidewalk and if a tzadik wants to give them a ride he will pull onto the shoulder. If they are standing in the street and someone stops to pick them up they are stopping traffic while the kid gets in the car....major chilul hashem!!
Go see for urself any evening on central ave just off rt 9 heading towards westgate. They stand where the road narrows to 1 lane!! so very dangerous!

Anonymous said...

to chaim moshe

if this boy doesnt care about himself why should others?

i think that in reguard to boys hitching if everyone would do as i do all of them hould be wearing reflectors within a week.

i always pull over . if a boy is wearing a reflector , i give him a ride. if he is not i ask him him where is his reflector and tell him that if he doesnt care about himself then why should others. and i just drive off without him. i think if everybody would do this all the boys would be wearing reflectors within a week. it may be a little mean , but it is for everyones good. drivers and pedestrians. spread the word.

Nem Tudom said...

Hey Tibi -
Are you Hungarian? Go in to Yussi's, spend 99 cents for a hotdog and ask him if he still has reflectors. You need the whole of Lakewood to answer your brilliant question? It's an easy thing to do and get rewarded with a bissele geshmake heimishe food. Nodyon Yo!

Anonymous said...

I pick up only those who wearing reflecters

kishkah said...

The writer is 100% correct and should be commended for bringing up such an important topic. I have nearly hit bochrim more than once. Oh and by the way,no I was not on a cellphone or speeding(to the smart ones earlier with comments)
BTW HAS IT OCCURED TO EVEN ONE PERSON THAT THE WRITER IS QUITE OBVIOUSLY "NISHT FUN UNZERE" He/She is simply concerned for YOUR child's safety and people can still come up with stupid comments. Very big Kiddush Hashem indeed!!

Grickmeyer said...

Indirectly related to this topic is how about the women who stand by the corner waiting to cross and their strollers are mamesh sitting on the road? I saw a woman safely shmoozing with her friend on the sidewalk and her stroller was clearly on Madison Avenue! I actually stopped my car on Route 9 and told her to get her baby off the highway. Sheesh!

Anonymous said...

to Kishkah and Grickmeyer:

I must say, it's refreshing to see people with heads screwed on right :)