September 15, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 29 She was a harbinger: a cute little blonde girl who looked much too young for a two-wheeler bicycle. She shot right across my path at Glen Rock’s death trap, the notorious convergence of Maple Avenue, Rock Road, and Hamilton Avenue. She is still alive today for three reasons: I was cold sober, I was driving well under the posted speed limit, and I was covering the brake – as I do whenever I see a kid on a bike anywhere in my peripheral vision. She darted out on front of me with no apparent understanding that motorists use the same road. I hit the brake and stopped short of hitting her by about six feet. If I had killed her, it would have ruined several lives. I thought of that girl just a few days later, when some concerned residents told the Glen Rock Borough Council there are a lot of speeders in their residential neighborhood. “A lot of these people are doing 45 or 50 miles an hour, and someday a child is going to get killed,” one concerned citizen said. I hate this intersection. I have lived to be an old man – oops, strike that, an older man – because I ignored people who told me I drive like an old lady. Honk all you want. I’m not doing 40 in a 25 mile per hour zone no matter what kind of hurry you may be in. I have a gimpy leg and a minor medal to prove I’m a Real Man. When my wife inveigles me to watch ballet, I don’t experience the slightest desire to get dressed in a tutu and prance. My military discharge reads “honorable.” I had my arm fractured by a wrench while investigating outlaw motorcycle gangs. I once took on Akita Morae in judo. (He won.) I once argued with Russell Means and lived. I once rode in an elephant race -- and came in third. I don’t have to drive in a way that kills kids to prove anything. I’ve proved it all. What do other people have to prove? Why can’t they understand that the speed limit, especially around schools, is 25 miles per hour -- and that people who speed in school zones, whatever their age or social standing, are potential killers? Let’s start with better traffic design. The intersection where the death-defying kid darted out in front of my car is a known hazard. Close off Hamilton Avenue with a curb on Rock Road and a curb on Maple Avenue, haul in some topsoil and clean fill, and plant grass and shrubs in the new green space. This could eliminate the rush down Hamilton Avenue past the Central School and the rear of the Glen Rock Library through this absurd anachronistic knot of an intersection that brings out the worst in selfish people who care about their own kids and nobody else’s. A local businessman offered to help, but nothing happened and the offer went to waste. We also need better enforcement. Every speeder, and everybody who is caught texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone, should be pulled over, ticketed, and given 12 hours in a local jail cell. Slow down and save some children A large part of the problem will quickly dissipate if the fines on conviction are elevated to four figures and mandatory jail sentences are provided for repeat offenders, as they are in DWI cases. Responsible citizens have a right not to be killed by drunks at the wheel. Texters should also be targeted. People who won’t get off the phone when they are driving may also suffer some sort of stigmatization from their precious friends, but they don’t have a stamped license to kill because their networking may be upset. Texting while driving kills three times as many motorists and pedestrians as DWI. Cell phone use is about even. Read my lips: 12 hours in the can and your name in the newspaper – just like everybody else who endangers pedestrians or other drivers. I also advocate common sense and common decency. Ladies and Gentleman, you can’t stop your car if you’re doing 45 or 50 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone and some kid darts out in front of you. If you kill the kid, you might go home, see a shrink, take a few pills, and rationalize that it wasn’t your fault, but safe driving is everybody’s job. That means you don’t touch the wheel when you’ve been drinking, you don’t jabber on the cell phone or text when you’re driving, and you don’t speed in residential neighborhoods. No exceptions. People who think they’re invulnerable to traffic laws that are meant to save lives have never visited Rahway. I’ve been there, though not as an inmate. If you think speeding in school zones is a joke, you should book a tour of Rahway some time. You get plastic utensils with dinner. Don’t ask why. Most of the people there have committed multiple homicides. If you are middle class and nearing middle age, speeding could be your last chance to make the plastic knife club. I have known three people who were inadvertently involved in vehicular homicide. One was driving to a tryst on the Cross-Bronx Expressway when a drunk 34-year-old divorcee stepped off the curb in front of his car. She flew over the hood and was dead when she hit the asphalt, but the next three cars hit her too. One was leaving a rock festival at Giants Stadium when a drugged-up fan ran out of the darkness into the path of his car. Ditto. He could have been driving slower, but there were no charges. Clambering up into the Cross Bronx Expressway to walk out in front of a car pretty clearly indicates a self-destructive urge above and beyond what a person with a normal lust for life can anticipate. Getting doped up at a festival in honor of the Grateful Dead sort of speaks for itself. The third person involved in vehicular homicide was driving on Maple Avenue when a child darted out in front of his car in pursuit of a ball. I don’t know whether the driver was speeding or not. Maple Avenue is the kind of road where the drivers behind you tend to mandate speeding by tailgating and honking, but no six-year-old without a bodyguard should have been anywhere near this death strip. The road is a known killer. Speeding enforcement could be better, though I see tickets being written all the time lately. The motorist who struck the kid suffered guilt for years afterward – not to mention the lawsuit, which wrecked his life even though his culpability was marginal to nil. None of these people served a day in prison because their victims were also the primary culprits. Speeding, while a fact in two of the cases, was a secondary factor to the rampant carelessness of pedestrians who either were tired of life and wanted to get it over with, or just didn’t care enough or know enough to take reasonable precautions. The drivers in these cases were innocent victims of the people they killed – unless they were speeding – but they still killed people. Avoid this perpetual pain and the legal complications. Move your foot away from the accelerator and cover the brake whenever you seen a kid near the curb. Above all, don’t speed in school zones. A life that has barely started, and is often surrounded by love and caring, is worth a little extra time on the road. Letters to the Editor Dear Editor: We wish to thank our many friends and neighbors for their overwhelming outpouring of support as we mourned the sudden loss of our beloved daughter and sister, Alicia Madigan. We are grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity with food, flowers, Mass cards, prayers, and expressions of sympathy. Knowing that so many people care was a source of tremendous comfort at this most difficult time. We appreciated all of you who stood by in line or wrote to share special memories of Alicia. We are especially moved by the many contributions in Alicia’s memory to the North Jersey Cerebral Palsy School in Livingston that will keep her spirit alive. Alicia so much loved her job in occupational therapy and delighted in her ability to make a small difference in these young children’s lives. Saint Elizabeth’s Church has been a source of much joy over the years, including Alicia’s first communion, confirmation, and her stints at Bible Camp. We are thankful to Monsignor Harahan and the entire Saint Elizabeth family for reaffirming our faith with a beautiful celebration of Alicia’s life. All of us were so proud of Alicia’s accomplishments and the care and passion she showed, touching so many lives. As a family, we are forever blessed with so many loving and cherished memories that will live on in our hearts forever. Tom and Mary Madigan & Erin, Michael, Andrea, Jimmy, Patrick, Doug, and Marcela Wyckoff Family appreciates support Dear Editor: September signals more than summer’s end and back-to-school for children. For the seventh year, September has been designated as National Preparedness Month to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, Are you ready? and communities. Of course, since we’ve just passed the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, devastation from storms is at the forefront of our minds. And well it should be. New Jersey has been very lucky. We have not had a direct hit from a hurricane in many years, but we all know that one day it could happen. We should not be lulled when hurricane season passes. There are so many possibilities for disaster, such as train accidents, ice storms, and multi-car accidents on our major highways. We can’t dwell on what might happen, but we can certainly take steps to avoid as much danger as possible and prepare for any eventuality. Here in New Jersey, the Salvation Army has a dedicated Emergency Disaster Services team that supports first responders and victims during times of crisis. We know how disasters can immediately turn lives upside down and how stressful it can be for individuals and families. I strongly encourage everyone to make preparedness plans now so that, if the time comes, you will have everything in order to help cope with your situation. Preparedness plans take only a short time to make, but the repercussions of not having plans can last a long time. Please visit ready.gov or fema.gov and then spend a few minutes following the guidelines for planning. Recording simple information such as phone numbers for relatives, friends, doctors, and your pharmacy will help you notify people if you must leave your home. Carrying a card with your medication information will be invaluable should you be injured. There are many other simple items you can record in one place to be of help if you need to be evacuated or are stranded. Please remember to make or update your preparedness plan today. And know that the Salvation Army is ready to be of assistance when disaster strikes. Financial support of all our programs is critical. Please show your support by making a donation. Visit salvationarmynj.org and click “donate” or make a credit card donation by calling Tricia Pellegrini at (908) 8518227. Major Donald E. Berry New Jersey State Commander