For the last week or two, residents and visitors driving through Westbrook have probably seen a couple of those portable scrolling message trailers around the city, flashing the phrase: “click it or ticket,” alerting us to the enforcement of the state’s seat-belt law.
To our west, in New Hampshire, there is some consternation in having a seat-belt law passed, but on a misty, dank Sunday afternoon, right here in Westbrook, some concerned citizens observed a situation that could have resulted in tragic consequences.
An out of state motorist was seen by several customers in the Hannaford’s store parking lot off William Clarke Drive, driving around the parking lot, with a little girl sitting in his lap and steering the wheel. I really cannot recall whether they had their seat belt on. They were in a Toyota Sienna minivan, driving up and down and around the driving lanes and sometimes crossing at 90 degrees from one lane to another through empty vehicle parking slots.
I distinctly heard one young woman say to the man with her, “How can they do such an unsafe thing?” I memorized, then wrote down the license plate and the make of the van. When I arrived home, I called the police dispatcher right away. She replied that someone else had called and an officer was heading to the store to look at the situation. I then said, “It’s bad enough having to watch out for people cutting across parking lanes diagonally in that parking lot, and also have to see something like this.”
I certainly hope the responding police officer gave the driver a piece of their mind and also advised the driver that several people had called the police department, with concerns about what they had seen.
In the past, I have written to the Westbrook Police Department and the Mayor’s office to express concerns about the unsafe driving practices and the dangerous layout of the Hannaford’s store parking lot. I was informed that the parking lot is a private business and the city has no control over the driving patterns or how the parking lot was designed. Well, maybe, last Sunday’s incident and the courage of a few citizens may have opened a few eyes.
I shudder to think what could have taken place, if someone in a hurry (the ones I have seen usually are) came into the store parking lot, like a shot, driving diagonally across one or more open parking lanes. They might never see the van coming.
Dennis Marrotte
Westbrook
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