Serious Half Term Warning, Parents Please Read

Nick Pomphrett of Braintree, Essex has taken to Facebook to warn parents and children this half term.

Nick wrote: Warning, this is long but very important.

With half term beginning I have already nearly had an accident that left me a little shaken, I very VERY nearly ran over a child! Let me explain:

For work I drive a large van, with a lot of items inside making it very heavy and slightly harder to stop then your average car. Yesterday I was heading down the Halstead High Street hill and approached the traffic lights at the bottom, there at the crossing was a boy on a scooter approximately 12 – 13 years old in school uniform.

As I approached the lights the boy flung his scooter into the road with him on it but pulled back instantly, presumably he’d missed the green man and decided against it. It was only when me and my big van got to the lights, just as they had changed, that he flung himself out again! I have never braked so hard in my life, it’s not everyday you make a vans wheels lock up! I must have missed this child by an inch or so, the disturbing thing was, he pulled back but didn’t even looked concerned!

The reason for this lengthy piece as that if I had hit said child and caused real damage, there would be a police investigation, I would have probably been suspended from my job as it would impact negatively on them and would probably face a social media witch hunt from parents on various groups claiming that it must have been my fault!

This has become an increasingly worrying trend lately with kids not looking and then when they realise, laughing it off or even swearing at drivers who manage to stop in time! Parents, please, please, PLEASE talk to your kids about crossing the roads as I now fear that it is not if but when a child will be hit this half term.
Thank you for reading this.