I live in a cul-de-sac neighborhood. There are approximately 60 homes on my entire street, and I live about 3/4 of the way down to the dead end. People park on the street in my neighborhood, sometimes on both sides which makes for a single lane in front of some houses where oncoming traffic will sometimes have to wait for the lane to clear. (annoying, but there aren't many people who come back there, so it hasn't been a big deal) There are no sidewalks, and many children in the development, so they often play in the street. People are often out walking in the evenings, also on the street.
I was out walking my dog and my wife was pushing the stroller with my 5 month old son it. My across-the-street neighbor comes flying down the street doing at least 35 mph through one of the bottlenecks where people are parked on both sides while my wife and I are trying to walk through. We were kind of caught out. If we had seen him coming, we would have gotten out of the way. As it was, he came up so fast there wasn't time to get out from between the cars, and there wasn't room to get over to the side. He comes easily within a foot and a half of my wife and son, and never lifts, brakes, or tries to give us room. Then he continues on up the hill and SKIDS to a stop in front of his house. (Also in front of my house as he lives across the street. The skid marks are about 18-20 feet long)
I have long said that parking on both sides of our street is a recipie for disaster. With the number of kids running around it is only a matter of time before someone gets hit. The rest of the development seems to realize this fact and keeps the speed down. Except for this idiot. When he's not driving his car, he's on his motorcycle and will easily hit redline in 2nd gear on his way up the hill. I have asked the local police about my options and they said if they don't see it, they can't do anything about it.

Now: I do not have a speaking relationship with the guy. He rents the house with 2 other people, and I couldn't tell you their names if I had to. (I could hardly tell you what they look like) What do I do? I am pissed off to an order of magnitude that I can't even begin to describe. He almost hit my family, and I want blood.
I know this is off topic, but thought it might be interesting to hear input on it.

 

Central AC foir the house they're renting?

Tuna juice in the condenser/fan outside.

--kC

 

Four words: Flaming bags of poo.


Seriously, the only effective way of first dealing with the problem is also the hardest. In-person confrontation. Talk to the guy, explain your side... Easier said than done, I know, especially when it involves your loved ones... but, in my experience, it's the most effective way of dealing with things and you want the greatest chance of success, right?

Anyway, I'm sure I'm telling you things you know already. Good luck.

Andy

 

Hide dead fish all around every entrance and exit he has. I mean hide them under the mulch, behind bushes, up in the gutters (they never find these, even if the jig is up). Leave a nice note printed by a computer(don't use your home paper supply- the watermark could give you away) telling him that you represent a group of concerned neighbors and when the stupid driving stops, then the stench will go away too.

See what happens. I think you will be happy with the results.

 

Next time toss a soccer ball (or the like) out from behind one of the parked cars, in front of his car and tell him in a calm manner (after he stops) that the ball 'could' have been a child running out from behind a car and that your family was put in a dangerous situation b/c of his driving reciently. Then pull a 'Bush on him and crush his face.

Does the homeowners association have rules about on street parking? Private or public streets? No sidewalks? Older subdivision?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Adrift &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hide dead fish all around every entrance and exit he has. I mean hide them under the mulch, behind bushes, up in the gutters (they never find these, even if the jig is up). </TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL, reminds me of this "experiment": http://www.thespark.com/science/stinkymeat/

 

the way I see it, you do have several options:
1- take a few days to cool off, and then go talk to the guy. Calmly, nicely. I think that you NEED to start there. If that doesn't help...

2- talk to your neighbors, if they share your opinions, grab a few of them, and go talk to the guy again. Nicely. If that still doesn't work....

3- you have a HOA? As much as I hate them...they might be useful. Report the guy to them. Go to a meeting in person and talk about it. Push to have the HOA contact the cops. If you have a rough idea of when the guy drives around to go to work, or come back, make sure the cops know about it. When there are enough complaints, the cops will usually set up a standalone radar for a few days and then setup a speed trap. If that doesn't work....

4- talk to the cops again. In my little town, most of us know the police chief - he's always driving around the 'hood in his cruiser with the assault rifle strapped to the headliner Do you have any cops living in your neighborhood? Talk to them, they have kids too, and will be very willing to help - off duty - talk to the guy.

Just don't get nasty right off the bat. Unless you wanna play it schoolyard style and end up getting charged for assault and battery - or hurt. Either way not a good example for the kids. I know how pissed off you must be (I've got two young kids myself) but you won't get anything resolved until you cool off and handle it calmly. Trust me on that.

If all else fails, see above posts for childish pranks which will only **** the guy off, and he won't even know why they are happening...

hth.

 

No association. No sidewalks. No posted "no parking this side" signs. It is not a gated community, and it is an older (~15-20yr) subdivision.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SJR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
If all else fails, see above posts for childish pranks which will only **** the guy off, and he won't even know why they are happening...

hth.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hey man, My idea included a note with reasons. It is only 95% childish.

 

C'mon guys. Dead fish? Tuna juice? Flaming poo?

Whatever happened to good old face to face discussion?

I'd have turned right around and immediately walked down to his house and knocked on the door. I'd introduce myself (sans handshake) and inform him, in case he failed to notice, that he almost ran over my wife and son. Making sure there was no question that if anything similar ever happened again I'd gladly spend the rest of my life in prison for beating him to death with an aluminum baseball bat (I wouldn't want to risk a wooden one shattering in the middle of the job).

The fact that he did this and didn't even bother to stop and apologize tells me what kind of person this guy is. There's only one thing he is going to understand and intelligent, peaceful discussion isn't it.

Then again, maybe he had some sort of family emergency? Was about to **** his pants? Dunno, and I dont think those are excuses anyway.

When I was about 6 years old and my brother was 4, we were swimming at the lake with some of our cousins during one of those holiday family reunion outing thingys. The area was shallow and marked off for swimmers with buoys and rope.
This guy came flying into the area with some of his buddies and some chicks in their pimpy new boat. It was clearly marked as "Idle Speed Only," but this jackass had it hammered. He came within a couple of feet of one of my cousins as he approached the boat dock on the side of the swimming area.
My dad got up and calmly walked down the pier. He introduced himself and pointed out to the guy what he had just done. The guy laughed and asked him where his badge was. That got him punched in the face 3 times. His nose was all mashed up and I'm pretty sure a tooth came out of there. It happened pretty fast. Oddly enough his buddies weren't interested in giving him a hand.
They all got back in their boat and left... At idle speed.
True story. And the only time I ever saw or heard of my dad doing something like that.

 

Before RJ locks this... First, as someone that designs neighborhoods, I'm appalled that you have 60 homes on a dead end street! Second, rental houses ruin every neighborhood. Complain to the city about every last thing wrong with the property and to the cops every time they make noise, hopefully the owners will get tired of being landlords and sell the place. In addition, some towns have ordinances about how many non family members can live in a single family residence. So 3 roommates may not be legal unless they are all brothers. Finally, try to be level headed and go over and introduce yourself, then explain the problem. Even if he's a dick it will still be on his conscious.

Good Luck!

I would not have blamed you for killing him that night!

 

absofuckinlutely. I agree with Scott on this 110%, having 2 kids of my own as well, this peckerneck needs to understand without any shadow of a doubt that his actions will lead him to an immediate cranial ventilation from John Browning if he injures or otherwise harms a member of the family with his irresponsibility and recklessness. Maybe you don't word it quite like that, but the message needs to be clear, and I'd look for a member of law enforcement to become really good friends with just for the extra pull needed to get a constant monitoring of this assclown. I had a similar situation, and it's nice having a brother who is a cop who could make sure that someone was almost always watching and patrolling.

But family is family, bro, and I agree with Scott on another thing - if some assclown ran over my kid/kids/wife, I wouldn't hesitate. There's no need for the rest of the taxpayers to have to pay to feed and house a jackass like that.

 

Also, you might try checking the city ordinances to see if the street is a certain width. At my sister's neighborhood here in CA they had similar problems. If there were cars parked on both sides of the street, the garbage truck couldn't even drive to the end of the cull-de-sac. They complained to the city, especially since all the beach goers parked in the side streets because of parking restrictions on the main blvd. (and it is free).

They found a city regulation that stated if a street is narrower than a certain width (I forget how many feet), they could get curbing one side of the street painted red and no one could legally park there any longer. It helped as far as the safety issue is concerned too. I also agree you should talk with and gather some of your neighbors then have a face to face with the guy about his speeding.

 

It might not be bad to check parking regulations in your town or homeowner's association. There's a reason you have a garage and a driveway, so parking on the street is tacky and dangerous, particularly when everyone is too stupid to leave room for traffic and pick a single side for parking.

If you have no regs, then maybe you should contact your alderman to get signs specifying that there is no parking on that side of the street. As to your idiot neighbor, you may get to him, but there's always another moron and correcting the situation that precipitated the problem would be the best solution.

(I see my suggestions have been covered, pretty much.)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vitt1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If there were cars parked on both sides of the street, the garbage truck couldn't even drive to the end of the cull-de-sac.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Good one...
The local fire department will have more pull than waste collection.

 

Could you videotape the idiot in action and then show that to the cops. This guy sounds like he needs to learn a lesson.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Central AC foir the house they're renting?
Tuna juice in the condenser/fan outside.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Silly, the AC condensor is a heat exchanger, it doesn't bring air into the house.

I've been guilty of driving a little too fast in my neighborhood too.. Just go talk to him, ask him to keep is slow inside the neighborhood -- go as fast as you want OUTSIDE the neighborhood.

If that doesn't work, burn him out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Brett@SoloRacer.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Could you videotape the idiot in action and then show that to the cops. This guy sounds like he needs to learn a lesson.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's a good idea. I'm divided on the course of action. I own a home, and have had a few annyoing rental tennants in the complex too. I tried being level headed about the things they were doing that bothered me, but rational discourse went nowhere. I spoke w/ the HOA and they filed a formal compalint with the owner, but the tennants remained for a few months and were booted, and the owner subsequently sold the home to rid himself of the headache.

For the time being I'd say you should try and keep this idiot in mind when you're out walking with your wife and child. I do think you should make yourself known to him by way of an introduction, but be ready for a confrontation -- sounds like someone of this guys caliber isn't exactly keen on parlance.

Good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vitt1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also, you might try checking the city ordinances to see if the street is a certain width. At my sister's neighborhood here in CA they had similar problems. If there were cars parked on both sides of the street, the garbage truck couldn't even drive to the end of the cull-de-sac. They complained to the city, especially since all the beach goers parked in the side streets because of parking restrictions on the main blvd. (and it is free).

They found a city regulation that stated if a street is narrower than a certain width (I forget how many feet), they could get curbing one side of the street painted red and no one could legally park there any longer. It helped as far as the safety issue is concerned too. I also agree you should talk with and gather some of your neighbors then have a face to face with the guy about his speeding. </TD></TR></TABLE>Good point.

My town, if it's a certain width, cars can only park on the west and south sides of the street, or if it's not marked as available parking.

--kC

 

One more thing.

I grew up in New Orleans. EVERY street had a sidewalk, everywhere! People actually walked to the store, friends houses, exercise, etc.

Why in the hell does GA only have like 20% sidewalks?!? Sell your house, move to a subdivision that has sidewalks. Just another reason GA sucks.

 

Gwinnett county is hole. Move to N.Fulton.

 

Personal confrontation is the only way to do it. Or street race him for money (winner takes all)!

As someone in his probable age bracket, I can say that two things would have been effective is obtaining my attention:

1. Angry Immediate Confrontation. Walk to his house yelling, and lay the threats down. Don't do anything stupid, but get your point across with ample aggression.

2. Calm Discussion after the Fact. Since it has already happened (1-2 days later) there's no point in being/acting pissed off. Knock on his door and calmly lay down the story being firm yet controlled. He wouldn't understand anger at this point (doesn't sound too bright either).

It's easier said than done (I have trouble talking to girls at bars ), but this is something that needs to be done. The family's safety is more important than what sound little bitch thinks of you.

 

Do you have a housing association in that development? If you do, check on the rules regarding renters as I know some associations are very **** (which is good since it helps maintain the neighborhood and property value) about renters. You can also complain about the speeding. Talk with your neighbors. If you have enough complaints, the proper authorities will take notice and act upon those complaints.

 

Probably best thing is face to face meeting. Stay calm and if the guy gets out of line dont let it upset you...just drop it like no big deal then later you can pull crap on him and he probably wouldn't know its you.

More than likely if he looks like a decent individual he may be to young to know better. Let him know that people "dont **** in there own 'hood"

That crap happens in my neighborhood as well. If im outside at the time I usually send a jet of water in front of there car or motorcycle and that puts them back into reality and they slow down.

Good luck. BTW my favorite prank is the balloon in the gas tank.

 

Take that soccer ball idea one step further and push an old stroller loaded with ground round in the shape of a baby out from between a couple of cars the next time he flies down the street. Put it in a cute little outfit if you want but make sure that he runs it over...

K