Отец погибшего сына разработал знак против отвлеченности пешеходов и водителей

Father who lost his son hopes new sign will save lives Daniel McBride lives with the pain of losing a child every day. But McBride, formerly of Grand Haven, has found a way to help cope with that pain – by helping others. One way he hopes to help is to make sure other families don’t go through the same thing he did. In 2000, Daniel’s son, 10-year-old Ross McBride, was killed when the car he was a passenger in was struck by another vehicle at the intersection of Comstock and 168th in Grand Haven Township. Ross was a student at Peach Plains Elementary School at the time; the school still gives out a scholarship in his honor each year. “There’s no language on record that can accurately describe the pain of losing a child,” Daniel McBride said. “But I found the best coping mechanism is helping people. We have the opportunity to do that every day.” Daniel now lives in Kent City, and the once-undeveloped property across from his home near the high school has been sold and is being developed into more than a dozen family homes. He’s concerned about the amount of traffic that will create, especially with so many kids walking in the area. And he’s noticed that both drivers and walkers tend to have their heads down, staring at their cell phones. So McBride developed a new warning sign that could be placed near schools or other crosswalks. The bright yellow sign takes a new twist on the traditional school crossing sign, which shows a boy and a girl carrying what appear to be lunch boxes. McBride’s sign features a teenage boy and girl walking while looking down at their cell phones. “In my mind, this sends a great message, and will hopefully save people from being injured – save lives,” McBride said. “It alerts the drivers, and it also alerts the pedestrians. You’ve got distracted drivers and distracted children, and that’s a recipe for disaster.” His quest to get the signs recognized by the state started with a call to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office. The first call wasn’t returned, but after he filmed a segment with a reporter from WZZM-TV, his second call received a response, and McBride was urged to contact his state representative and senator who could “possibly sponsor a bill and push it through the legislative process.” Since then, he’s also attended several Planning Commission meetings in Kent City to get a better feel for how the process of how to get new signs approved. McBride said he’s never attempted anything like this before – “I’m jumping in the water, and I don’t know how deep it is, or how fast the current is moving,” he joked. His hope is that the signs, should they one day appear on near schools in Kent City and beyond, would help raise awareness to distracted walking, and driving, and hopefully save lives.