Do you ever zoom through a neighborhood? I used to live on a main street and my parents didn’t think about the placement of the house until we were toddlers and constantly outside. Whenever they would see people speeding on our street they would gripe about the safety. I’m sure they saw repeated offenders but there never was one particular person who really stood out as a reckless speed demon. That is not always the case though. Quora user Donna shares her story story about how she taught this teen a jaw dropping lesson they will never forget.
“The teenagers down the street speed by my house and my little ones play out front. Recipe for disaster.”
As a mom of a toddler, I can imagine how I would feel. What measures would you take to slow the neighbors down?
“To slow the speedsters down (and possibly preserve their lives), I bought one of those neon green plastic men who stand by the roadway and hold a flag that says, ‘Slow down.’ I got this little green guy from a lumber/lawn and garden store. They did not slow down.
There is one young lady in particular (college age probably) who not only speeds by, she does so while looking at her phone. One day, I purchased a used stroller from Facebook. I brought the stroller home and placed it in my driveway, which has a steep slope to the roadway. I needed to clean the stroller before use.”
I don’t know if it’s just my mama bear instincts or if I’ve seen too many Lifetime Movie Network movies, but this stroller situation is about to go South!
“After a period of time the aforementioned young lady came racing toward my driveway, staring at her phone as usual. SOMEHOW, the stroller rolled out into the street as she was passing by, and she ran over it. Never. Even. Saw. It.”
Can you imagine? Do you think the girl saw it coming at all? I once read that if you look down at your phone for even 2 seconds you would almost travel the length of a football field.
“She did stop immediately upon running over the stroller, and she was crying when she got out of the car. I just stood there watching her as she gripped her phone, staring at the stroller under the car. Then, I walked back into the house, nonchalantly.
She was in the middle of the street (as is her driving habit) and her car was positioned over a crumpled baby stroller. She knew she was in deep, deep trouble, so she called her folks, my neighbors. They came in less than a minute and assessed the situation. NOBODY CALLED 911.
I watched this whole ‘parents on the scene and nobody called 911’ scenario unfold from the comfort of my dining room window. I made a mental note to dust the window sill.”
There is nothing quite as good as watching the drama from a far. I wonder if the people saw Donna in her house? What did the parents think actually happened?
One of my favorite situations is the moment people realize they are busted or not alone. Donna planned everything perfectly but the teenager’s reaction played out as Donna had also thought. She must be a good actor though because I could not fake a setup with a straight face like she did!
“After a full minute had passed, I walked back out through the garage door, carrying my cleaning supplies, and looked around for my stroller. I pretended to notice the commotion out front for the first time. I walked toward her car, looked under it and said, ‘Oh, I see you found my stroller. I just took it out of my car and went inside to get something to clean it with. I guess it rolled out into the street. Good thing it didn’t have a baby in it.’
Donna is so rehearsed, the first time I read this I actually laughed at out loud. “Oh, I think you found my stroller.” The stroller is crunched under the car. Donna is nonchalant and I can only imagine how mortified the teenager’s parents were.
“With that, I turned and walked back toward my house. The dad was offering to pay for the stroller while the girl and her mom stood there crying in a pitiful embrace. Over my shoulder I told him, ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll get another one. No big deal.’
She does NOT speed by my house anymore.”
Would you have taken money from the dad for a new stroller or is the sheer point you’re making to the teenager sufficient? What would you do?
