By Ronald Stillman | Paradise Valley
Paradise Valley has a problem with our children. Children are being allowed to traverse our streets on motorized vehicles, and no one is stepping in to stop them.
We have all witnessed this dangerous phenomenon. Out of nowhere, a child atop a two-wheeled vehicle is careening down the street, side by side with cars and trucks. Weaving in and out of traffic. Back and forth from streets to sidewalks with complete disregard for their own safety, as well as the safety of the motorized vehicles driven by adults who are licensed by the state to actually traverse our roadways. A recipe for disaster. Someone is going to be seriously injured, or worse.
What started as e-bikes has rapidly evolved beyond electrically assisted bicycles. Many of the vehicles these children are driving more closely resemble motorcycles than bicycles. They are fast – sometimes as fast as an automobile – and oftentimes indistinguishable from the vehicles which require a driver license and license plates. Not to mention insurance. Being operated by children young children, with no supervision and no recourse for the mayhem left in their wake.
I shudder to think of the psychological damage to come when a responsible driver collides with one of these reckless children and causes bodily harm, or worse.
I call on our local and state government officials to step in and put a stop to this dangerous situation before it spirals even further out of control. Likewise, I urge the parents of these children (where are these parents, and why are they allowing their children to be unleashed in such a way on the rest of us?) to get a grip on these kids before tragedy strikes and we are left with nothing but regret for a disaster that could have been avoided.
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