4 wheelin @ Walmart - UPDATE- what I did

[roscoe]

Stopped at the local Walmart on my way to work today, needed some bandaids for my new work boots.

Pull in the lot and park. The lot is busy, 100+ cars in the lot.
Get out of truck, close the door, step to the back, and a tiny Honda 90 atv goes by.

There are 2 young girls, 8-10 years old riding it, up and down the aisles of the parking lot.

The atv isn't registered for either private land use, or for public trail/park use.

There are no trails within 15 miles.
The store is on the edge of a town of 4000 people.
Nearest houses are 1/2 mile away in a small subdivision with 1/4 acre lots.

In a hurry, and a bit confused by the situation, I went and got my bandaids and left the store. When I got out to the truck, I see the atv parked about 4 spots over from me.

What did I do?

What would you have done?

What should have been done?


Your thoughts?

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

I've never seen a Walmart without at least one cop on site. A quick mention to him/her, would have taken care of the problem.



???

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

If I said what I should{trying to be responsible}, I would feel like a hypocrite, as when I was younger, I/we rode the dickens out of our mini-bikes starting at about that age...but, knowing how I've changed thru the years, I would probably have caved to doing whats right, by at least... talking to them to see if they understand the dangers and if their parents knew where they were.

Hey, it's 3:30 in the morning here, not a prime time for testing me

 

[roncoop75]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

I wouldn't have even gone in the store w/o calling that in. In fact, I would have held the phone up so the dispatcher could here the thing sailing by.

Killjoy? No, they could have gotten seriously hurt. When I was 12ish I got hauled down to the police station for riding my minibike in a grass lot in the city. An empty grass lot! A busy parking lot? What kind of parents do that? That's like saying "Here kid, take this ball and go play out on the highway."

 

[tommays]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

It is a never ending problem in my neighborhood and would require multiple calls PER day

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Confiscate the ATV in the back of your truck and keep it till they are old enough to drive it !!!

 

[roncoop75]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

It is a never ending problem in my neighborhood and would require multiple calls PER day

Ya, I know, I've seen the videos online. Here, that just doesn't fly. Like I mentioned, I got away with it for about 30 minutes before 3 cop cars showed up, lights flashing, ect. They weren't too happy. Neither was my father when he showed up to take me and the minibike back home. :redface:

And now, 30 years later, it still doesn't fly. I don't know why some cities don't do anything about it. Lack of manpower/budget?

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart

If it were me, I would of mentioned it to an employee or manager of Walmart.

 

[roscoe]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart-- What I did Update.

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart-- What I did Update.

Here's what I did.

Told the checkout person, who then told the manager in the checkout area, who was "concerned". Seemed like she was going to tell someone about it.

When I went outside and saw the atv parked, I walked up to it, pulled the plug wire of and placed the boot next to the sparkplug, and flipped the choke lever.

Figured if nothing else, the little farts wouldn't get it started and end up killed, ruining the life of the person that hit them, and probably denting an innocent vehicle. Maybe they would have to call daddy to get it started, that would give Walmart time to respond if they had the guts to do anything.

*********************************
FYI, Have never seen a cop at this Walmartor at the one 45 miles down the road, and no time to call it in and wait for one.
Very rural county of 1200 square miles, only 20,000 people.
10 acre fields on either side of the store where they could have parked.


I hope they got their butts tanned.

 

[badkins50]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart - UPDATE- what I did

I bet they had a nice little push back home. Around here if the PD catches your (IF) then the will take it on the spot and it's your loss.

 

[PGFISHER]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart - UPDATE- what I did

No one under the age of ten can legally operate a 90. You didn't mention that they were wearing any safety gear. That quad is not to be ridden by more than one rider. It should be a case of child endangerment to let kids that young ride without supervision. You are correct; this is strictly an off road vehicle, and because the rear axel is solid (not a diferential) the quad tends to keep going straight rather than turning on pavement. Every way you look at it, this is a dangerous situation and anything you did to stop it was not only prudent but heroic. You may very well have saved their lives.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart - UPDATE- what I did

Makes me happy I don't live in an area that "there is as least one cop in the Walmart Parking lot all the time."

The only thing our Wallmart has in a different way is a hitching rack in one corner of the lot so the customers that come by buggy can tie their horses to it. Most all the stores around here have hitching posts.

 

[roscoe]

Re: 4 wheelin @ Walmart - UPDATE- what I did

No one under the age of ten can legally operate a 90. You didn't mention that they were wearing any safety gear. That quad is not to be ridden by more than one rider. It should be a case of child endangerment to let kids that young ride without supervision. You are correct; this is strictly an off road vehicle, and because the rear axel is solid (not a diferential) the quad tends to keep going straight rather than turning on pavement. Every way you look at it, this is a dangerous situation and anything you did to stop it was not only prudent but heroic. You may very well have saved their lives.

No safety gear.
Shorts, t-shirts, tennis shoes.

I figure if they wanted to hurt or kill themselves, fine, do it at home.
Don't put the guilt and blame on some driver.