“You Could Be Right, But You’d Be Dead Right”

This is one of the “Dad-isms” I recall from my childhood. I used it over the years on my kids but they would just look at me as if I had lost my mind. When I was 8 years old we lived on a busy street and across this busy street was the library and I loved to go, by myself, and check out books to read. (I belonged to the Book Worm Club)  My father’s instructions were to walk up to the corner where there was a signal and use the crosswalk. Yet beyond that he told me to always pay attention, because even though I was in the crosswalk, those two lines did not guarantee that all cars would stop. Thus the, “you could be right but you would be dead right”.

I bring this up as it is almost time for school to start and I worry about kids paying attention as they cross streets, navigate drop off/pick up areas, as well as parking lots. I still see too many accidents where the driver is texting or fiddling with their phone to get the song they want on their Bluetooth radio. I have witnessed countless teenagers, (and adults) walking across streets and through parking lots with their noses in their cell phones, never even glancing at oncoming cars to see if they look like they intend to stop. I have a client whose son was a passenger in a car that was hit by a drunk driver. The boy’s friend was killed in the accident. Not all drivers follow the rules and our kids need to be made aware of this because the world can be a dangerous place even when they are following the rules.

So please impress upon your children that when they are moving around in the same space as automobiles, that they need to pay attention to what is going on around them. Because even though they might do everything right, they could still be injured by someone who isn’t.

Have a great rest of your summer!

Jim Oliver
(805)985-5488
[email protected]