MIDLAND, Texas — It can be a parent's worst nightmare when their child getting hit by an unsuspecting car is going over the speed limit.
Anne Schwiening is one of those parents. She has lived at her home since 1991 and has seen her fair share of drivers ignoring the speed limit and having some close calls.
“Coming off of Golf Course [Road], the speed limit is 25 to 30 [miles per hour]," Schwiening said. "They turn the corner and they get up to 40 to 45 [miles per hour] and there's children out in the street with little green signs. My concern is they will be hit because they're going back and forth across the street.”
Schwiening knows first hand what it is like to see a child get hit by a car.
Her young daughter Shelley was hit by a car back when she was only four years old, when she tried to cross the street.
“She instantly left the garage and ran across the street to her friend," Schwiening said. "On her way back, a mother was driving down our street with no parked cars and was speeding with three of her own kids, and her car hit Shelley and knocked her pretty far.”
Shelley suffered a major head injury which put her in the hospital for almost six weeks. She did eventually recover and grew up to start a family, and while she is healthy presently, Anne knows that it could have been a lot worse.
“After several years of seizures and stuff, she's doing quite well, she can hold a job has a marriage, has a family, has six great little grandbabies and is very active in our church," Schwiening said. "At the time of the accident, we did not know what was going to be and it was very serious.”
Now, the City of Midland has been stepping up to try and get drivers to slow down.
The City of Midland and Midland Police Department recently put out a reminder warning motorists to ease off the gas pedal and to be cautious when driving in the neighborhood.
Some parents and concerned neighbors have put up "caution at play" signs to try and slow down motorists.
While they can be useful for slowing people down, the city cites literature from the City of Dallas regarding the caution at play signs when saying that “warning signs are most effective when used sparingly and are intended to advise motorists of an unusual or unexpected condition ahead. These types of signs have little value if used extensively.”
They must also be put up at the edge of one's property.
Some neighbors like Schwiening believe that these little green signs are just not enough, and can be hazardous to drivers if they are left out in the street.
“They're not tall enough, first of all, and if they're in the middle of the street, they're causing you to go to the wrong lane," Schwiening said. "It's not a smart situation."