Friday, May 25, 2007

Road Rage In A School Zone


I can’t even remember the last time I bent both knees just subtly enough to enhance balance to set for the potential launch of shuddering force into another human being. Today’s incident, however, I will long remember.

On Friday’s, Crocker Farm Pre School dismisses at noon. The school sits atop a slight hill a ways up from the access road on Rt. 116, a busy highway.

As I started to drive down from an upper parking lot immediately adjacent to the school with my five-year-old daughter safely strapped in back, I had the window open to circulate air until the AC could kick in.

The unmistakable whine of a motorcycle and a car both gunning their engines caught my undivided attention as a bright yellow bike and a dark two-door passenger car whizzed down the hill towards the stop sign at Rt. 116, with the motorcycle parallel and dangerously close to the driver side of the car.

The speeding vehicles came to a stop just in time and Evel Knievel initiated a heated exchange with the car’s driver. Suddenly the stationary car erupts in REVERSE speeding all the way back up the hill until directly in front of the school easily hitting speeds two or three times that allowed in a school zone.

He then shifted back into forward and once again gunned his engine and hurtled down the hill passing me a tad too fast to get off a well-placed sidekick into his passenger window as I yelled, “It’s a school zone pal!”

The potentially catastrophic aspect of this irresponsible stunt is that it occurred during the busiest time of the day for children, parents, or guardians as well as school personnel.

Since it was so busy witnesses may provide the license plate number to Amherst Police (many of whom were at Umass backing up UMPD in case there is any graduation disruptions over Andy Card’s honorary degree) so they can track down the culprit.

I, for one, would love to have a brief chat.

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