So the Volusia County Council is seeking quick fixes on how to make beach driving safer for children on the beach. New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer was right on the mark when he told County Councilman Jack Hayman at a recent breakfast: "There has to be some personal responsibility."
Barringer, a former lifeguard wasn't being crass in the wake of a 4-year-old's death after being struck by a pick-up truck. He was being honest, brutally honest.
The beach is no greater than any other setting where children are potentially in harm's way. And frankly, some of the ideas to quell the problem are laughable, like banning cell phones for motorists driving 10 miles per hour.
Let's be real.
How about banning cell phones by parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. who are yacking away on their cell phones, or worse yet, texting -- which requires two hands -- instead of watching their children.
And spending $50,000 on a "study" to look at making the beach safer. Again, Barringer, who huddled with fellow mayors Mike Thomas of Edgewater and Allen Green of Port Orange at Hayman's request, was again on the mark when he said it was ridiculous to go that route when the answers are right in front of them.
It's not just the driver. It's not just the parent of the child. It's not Just the Beach Patrol. It's everyone doing their part.
Taking cars off the beach will only lead to more child deaths because children will have to cross A1A, from Ponce Inlet and all the way up to Ormond Beach, with the exception of scant few parking areas on the east side of the highway.
And more and more beach-goers are coming to New Smyrna Beach as opposed to Daytona Beach, thanks in part to the County Council's decision a decade ago to make the core-tourist area behind Ocean Walk, a non-driving (pseudo private paradise) to attract the rich condo owners. Certainly, the County Council would not dare consider buying beachfront acreage for parking.
Personal responsibility.
Remember the ridiculous trolley that was put out there to pick up beachgoers at the parking garage across from Ocean Walk and at other key stops to the beach. I actually used that open-air train on wheels more than most people as a "free" father-son night on Fridays with my boy when he was a toddler. He loved riding on the back with dear-old Dad, drawing waves from biker chicks on Main Street.
The constriction on the beach just meant more congestion elsewhere on the 17 miles left of driving on the 40 miles of beach.
My son, now 16, grew up on the beach. It's where he learned how to swim and enjoy one of the Sunshine State's best recreational outlets. My kid was with me at all times as I was with him.
Personal responsibility.
For the parents who don't want to take responsibility for their children: Stay home. There have been too many times I've been aggravated worrying about other parents' kids while taking care of my own. Same thing driving: Some parents are more careless than the kids with them. Like parent, like child.
Personal responsibility.
Yes, two 4-year-old kids died this year -- one in Daytona Beach when she broke away from a relative and was struck by an older woman driver in a Lincoln, who wasn't speeding. And a 4-year-old boy died when he was struck on the beach in New Smyrna by a pick-up truck with large tires after trying to run after his father who walked into the water to wash his hands and the boy yelled out to him. Again, the driver, a young man, was not speeding.
It's sad and everyone's heart goes out with the tragedy of these two young lives lost.
I found it ironic that on the day the Daytona Beach did a big front-page follow-up expose on the horrors of beach driving, there was a second story on the same front page about a 2-year-old boy killed in the DeLand area after darting into the road while with his mother.
Personal responsibility.
There were no County Council hearings on that tragedy. Nor were there any County Council hearings when a toddler drowned in his grandparents' swimming pool earlier this year in Ormond Beach.
Today's News-Journal (I read it already online for free) again emphasizes that two children were killed on the beach this year, the first such child fatalities in nearly 15 years. Of course, that fact would put the issue in perspective and make the story less sexy.
Oh, and for the record, Mayor Barringer was miffed when his quote in the News-Journal read "parental responsibility" instead of what he actually said, which was, yes: "personal responsibility."