When a Florida dad noticed the “Kids-at-Play” sign he put up outside the family home had been flattened, he turned to his Ring security camera for answers.
Steve, who asked that his real name be omitted from this story, had erected the sign out of concern for his two young kids.
“We have a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old and care deeply about their safety. So we bought this $30 plastic sign from Home Depot and placed it down by the road to alert cars,” he told Newsweek. “Our kids don’t run into the road and we are always outside with them supervising, but you never know. Some cars come flying by.”
Steve didn’t think anything more about the sign. It seemed like a sensible move designed to warn motorists passing through the neighborhood. But it would appear that someone was unhappy with it.
“The other day I noticed the sign was knocked over,” Steve said. “So I checked our Ring camera footage.” What Steve saw was so shocking, he decided to post it to Reddit, under the handle u/EL-CHEL to see what others made of it.
The clip captures the moment a grey pickup is driving past and stops, briefly, in front of the “Kids-at-Play” sign, before driving over it. Steve couldn’t believe it the first time he watched the footage. The man in the car was one of his neighbors.
“We were pretty alarmed,” he said. “My initial thought was that it had to be intentional.”
Those watching on Reddit shared Steve’s concerns. “That was calculated. Don’t let your kids outside if they are around,” one user wrote. “There’s not gonna be a successful interaction with them,” another said. “Time to call the cops. This guy uses his vehicle as a weapon,” a third added.
Disputes with neighbors are not uncommon. In April, a survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Newsweek, saw 1,000 U.S. adults were asked about the most intense or unusual disputes they’ve had with neighbors.
Yard maintenance, boundary issues and other property intrusions all featured on the list. Yet there was no mention of any clashes over signs telling drivers to watch their speed as kids often play on the road.
Steve does not know all that much about the neighbor in the video. “He is an older gentleman I am guessing in his 70s, lives directly across the street from us,” he said. “In five years we haven’t talked once. Which is unusual, we have a friendly neighborhood. Lots of young families. We’ll wave at him but he seldom waves back.”
Steve hasn’t confronted the neighbor over what he saw on the video. “I intend to, but haven’t seen him around and life is busy with two young kids working full time,” he said. Instead, he’s taken the higher ground with a non-confrontational approach that involves replacing the sign. If anything further happens, however, that stance could change.
“He broke the stand and we need to buy a new one. We put one back up immediately thinking if he hit it again it would be conclusive.”
“We haven’t asked law enforcement to speak with him or anything,” Steve said. “I want to talk to him first or at least see if he is aggressive when confronted.”
For now, Steve is keeping a close eye on his family and the neighbor across the street.
