Stop This ‘Chicken’ Menace

Rushden children have been playing with death, and this week the anxious mother of a ten-year-old accuses other parents of aiding and abetting them by showing insufficient interest in their children’s activities.

In search of excitement, some children have been risking their limbs and lives in foolish acts of bravado to avoid taunts from their friends. “Chicken” is a call which young boys and their mothers hate to hear. For youngsters the word means a challenge and loss of face; for mothers it means anxiety and fear.

“Chicken” demands that those taking part should dash across the road into the path of an oncoming vehicle, jumping to safety only at the last possible moment. The first to move out of danger gets the jibe of being chicken-hearted; the one who stays the longest gets the praise of his comrades – if he survives.

Handicap

Luckily, there have been no casualties at Rushden, but the game, with its possible fatal consequences, has been gaining popularity here.

Irchester Road children have their own variation on the rules, and give themselves a handicap. As if it were not dangerous enough, they have chosen to climb into sacks, making it more difficult to move about.

A Rushden woman describing herself as “a worried mum – also a motorist,” writes to the “Rushden Echo” about this hazardous version, and of the horrified reaction of one who saw it.

She says: “Surely that particular road is treacherous enough as it is, with its potholes and bad surface without the added nightmare of youngsters dashing under your wheels in sacks?

“If my son asked for a sack to play with I’d jolly soon want to know why – especially after dark.”

“Worried Mum” believes that there is far too much apathy on the part of parents about what their children do in their spare time. A reporter’s investigations showed that many parents don’t know what is happening.

Some mothers living in the area of Knuston Spinney, where the game is practised, do not even know what “chicken” is, let alone realise that it is happening almost on their own front doorstep.

If parents have not known in the past what has been happening, they would be well advised to ask questions of their children now and stamp out this stupid game. Remember: “A live ‘chicken’ is better than a dead ‘hero’.”

It’s Prams Blocking High St.

Is there an obstruction problem in Rushden High Street? If so, who causes it – traders who exhibit their goods outside their shops, or mothers who stand gossiping three prams abreast?

At Wednesday’s Urban Council meeting the onus was placed on the mothers, who, it was alleged, created more of an obstruction problem by parking their prams side by side, chatting and admiring each other’s children.

The whole problem of obstruction in the High Street was highlighted by the “Echo” when a letter of complaint was received from the Mothers’ Club.

The mothers protested about goods, particularly food, being displayed on the pavement outside shops. Members thought it was not only unhygienic but caused unnecessary obstruction to mothers with prams.

Since then similar letters of protest have been circulated to members of the council and the complaint was put before the Highways and Planning Committee from the road safety Committee.

No Action

On Wednesday the committee briefly reported that it had decided to take no action.

Mr. R. R. Griffiths, one of the members circulated with a letter of complaint, said he had experience of pushing a perambulator along the High Street. He also had experience of being a pedestrian and having responsibilities with another type of business in the High Street.

He suggested that the fault was not as much with the ratepayers but with Rushden worthy mothers, who parked their prams two and three abreast as they talked and admired the children.

Mrs. D. E. Shrives, vice-chairman, almost immediately got to her feet. “I can’t let that pass without comment,” she said.

Shops Blamed

She said she had experienced pushing a pram along the High Street and she had every sympathy with the Mothers’ Club.

But she added that if the paths were being obstructed it was a matter for the police, not the council.

Mrs. Shrive said that every trader who does exhibit goods outside his shop should ask himself the question: “Is it really necessary?”

Mr. E. F. Mawson said there were no two ways about it, there was an obstruction being caused, and in his mind it ought to be stopped.

“We all know that certain shops are causing an obstruction and the least the committee could have done was to ask the police to keep an eye on this,” he said.

This is the view that will greet pupils at Rushden’s newest school, which is an extension to South End Primary School. The entrance off Wymington Road is placed near to a busy junction and the question of road safety was raised at Rushden Road Safety Committee meeting.

Work started this week on moving Rushden High Street’s pedestrian crossing a few yards nearer College Street and away from the entrance to Succoth Passage. The crossing has been moved because it was almost directly opposite the entrance to Succoth Passage, one of the busiest pedestrian ways. The danger of people stepping out of the passage and on to the road is obvious. A pedestrian barrier will be erected at the entrance to the passage.

Mums angry over road dangers near school

Anxious parents fear that a serious, possibly fatal, accident is almost certain to happen outside Rushden Newton Road Infants and Junior School if steps are not taken to make the road safe for children to cross.

Children dashing across roads are a deadly menace, not only to themselves, but to the unsuspecting motorist as well, and at Newton Road there is nothing to keepthe children in check.

Motorists are warned by a school sign and are restricted to a 30 mph speed limit. but the parents the “Echo” talked to did not feel that was enough.

“I think it is disgraceful that there is not a lollipop man or even a zebra crossing outside the school,” said Mrs. Margaret Mason, of 25 Park Road, whose five-year-old daughter Sheila attends the school.

“I understand there is a policeman on duty occasionally at lunchtime. If the road is sufficiently dangerous for a policeman to be there on odd occasions then surely that warrants someone being there all the time.

‘On Edge’

“It is a very busy road and cars never slow down. I have seen many near accidents. Cars are parked in Newton Road and double-decker bus stops near the school when the children are coming out at 3.30 p.m. This all leads to congestion,” added Mrs. Mason.

Mrs. Olive Ramshaw, who sometimes collects Mrs. Mason’s daughter from school, gave us her opinion.

“It is very dangerous. I am literally on edge every time I go up to the school,” she said.

The “Echo” raised the matter with the school. A spokesman said that a survey was carried out about 18 months ago by the county authorities.

“They reached the conclusion that not enough children crossed the road to warrant any safety precautions being taken.

“At the time we asked parents not to park their cars outside the school. They responded for a spell but now the situation is as bad as ever. We asked them to park in the many side-streets off Newton Road.

“Mrs. Mason has spoken to me on the subject and I shall be taking it up with the school managers again,” added the spokesman.

Rushden police confirmed that the constable who covers Newton Road area does occasionally do a spot of traffic control.

“However, this is something that the constable does off his own bat. Nothing has been arranged with the school,” said the police spokesman.

Visits

PC Tom Lewis stressed that that he only paid infrequent visits to the school.

“I have not been for about three weeks. It is very dangerous and I believe that the best solution would be to have a lollipop man on duty,” he said.

Random interviews with mothers outside the school found them to be unanimous in their opinion that the road is a potential danger spot.

Very recently a nine-year-old boy was knocked down in Newton Road some way from the school. He was lucky. He escaped with cuts and grazes.

The boy, Alan Pritchard, of 159 Newton Road, who is a pupil at the junior school, ran out from behind a van and had to be taken to Kettering Hospital.

This accident was not the result of a child racing out of the school, but these Rushden parents believe a similar sort of accident could happen to their child.